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{
    "id": 1489953,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1489953/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 98,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13588,
        "legal_name": "Osotsi Godfrey Otieno",
        "slug": "osotsi-godfrey-otieno"
    },
    "content": "from the ground breaking done by hon. Moses Kuria because there is no money. The money that is supposed to be given by the County Assembly has not been approved. The national Government has not sent any money. We were to get Kshs250 million, now it will be reduced further to Kshs105 million. This project is a wonderful idea, but I am worried that it will be a white elephant. We have Members of Parliament (MPs) who sit there, look at these projects, they do not see any sense, they reduce the money and then the projects fail to succeed. As we talk about the National Assembly reducing the money that is meant for the county governments and additional allocation, we must also talk about what is happening in our counties. Our counties are not functional. The governors are now staying in Nairobi. The County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) for Finance and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are staying in Nairobi because there is no money. They are unable to access the little money they received for July because of the inefficiency at the office of the Controller of Budget (CoB). Therefore, they are basically here in Nairobi, moving from the National Treasury to the CoB and going back to their Liaison offices here in Nairobi while their staff are not being paid. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we cannot sit here pretty as Senators and our counties are not functional because money has not been sent to them. Article 219 of the Constitution is very clear that the Shareable Revenue should be sent to the counties without undue delay and deduction. If you go for four to five months, without receiving the money from the national Government, this is already a violation of Article 219 of the Constitution. Hon. Senators, I think we must do something extraordinary. I remember the Senate that came before us went to court at some point and marched to the Chief Justice’s office. That was a serious commitment towards ensuring that Article 96 of the Constitution is complied with. Mr. Speaker, Sir, even as we talk about this, we must also re-examine Article 249 of the Constitution on our role in the process of budget making. We must revisit this Article of the Constitution. It is very clear that Parliament, and ‘’Parliament’ includes both the Senate and the National Assembly, shall allocate funds to commissions and independent offices. We have over 12 commissions. That is already a role that we have been given by the Constitution in budget making process. Why are we not taking that up, so that at least we have a voice in the budget making process? Since, the National Assembly has taken advantage of its powers to try and frustrate us, I think it is important for us to lay a claim on Article 249 of the Constitution and say that any budget that is passed without adherence to Article 249 of the Constitution is null, void and is illegal. This House must rise to the occasion and demonstrate that we are the true defenders of Article 96 of the Constitution, which provides that Senate exists to protect counties. We talk about it here but we do very little. It is a high time we had a kamkunji and discussed these things before we are elbowed out by the enemies of devolution, who sit in the National Assembly and every day they are thinking on how to derail the Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I support the Report by the Committee on Finance and Budget and totally reject the Bill from the National Assembly."
}