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{
"id": 1489971,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1489971/?format=api",
"text_counter": 116,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "revenue. However, even the own-source revenue is limited because of the scope of taxing options that counties have. For instance, in the Financial Year 2023/2024, the County Government of Migori was only able to raise about Kshs406 million from its own-source revenue. If you look at how much money the County Government of Migori needs to run its functions, if you start doing these cutbacks, you are properly defunding the county government of Migori. Madam Temporary Speaker, instead of blaming the National Assembly, we should advise it that the effort of defunding counties is counterproductive. The moment you have gone to counties and made it impossible for service delivery and administrative functions to work, you will start realizing that you are going to cause political tensions in these counties. For instance, a project stalled in the county government has a bigger ripple effect than a project stalled in the national Government. By the value of Schedule Four of the Constitution, they have bigger consequences. Schedule Four of the Constitution devolved fundamental functions that deal with basic human needs in the counties, starting from things like health, water, childhood education and vocational training. If you look at all the functions of devolution, they are existential functions. If you do not fund them properly and do not allow money to go to them properly, what you end up doing is a counterproductive element of politics where you put these counties in serious political tension. Then, some of these fundings that we see being cut, both from the equitable share and now on these unconditional grants, you will find that some of these functions directly touch administrative functions where some commitments have been made. For instance, in the Bill that the National Assembly forwarded to this House, you realize that they revised the construction of the county headquarters from its initial allocation of Kshs528 billion downwards. They also revised the cost of transferring museum functions downwards from the initial Kshs30 billion. They revised the court fines, which are monies that had already been collected. They have also revised mineral royalties. Then, the worst revision that touches directly on service delivery and efficiency of the economies at the grassroots, they revised the proceeds from the Road Maintenance Levy Fund, amounting to Kshs10.5 billion. If you think about it, the county roads are exactly what they are. They are county roads because they are found within counties. In places like Kisii County, women who have worked hard on their farms and harvested potatoes, bananas and avocados cannot access the market during rainy days, which happen to be many during harvest, simply because their county roads are bad. If you go to a place like Migori County, there is a road between Nyakweri, which is in the Nyatike sub-county, and Sori. Between Nyakweri and Sori, there is a major road that is supposed to facilitate a serious economic engine for that entire area. Nonetheless, fishermen from Sori cannot access markets because the roads there are bad. Fishermen from Sori cannot bring their goods to Migori Market because the roads are bad. We have an amazing workforce in places like Kuria and Getong’anya, where people work hard to produce amazing potatoes. However, during rainy days, the county cannot even maintain those roads. Kenyans who have worked so hard in Kuria and have worked the entire season to produce their potatoes are having their potatoes go bad because there are muddy roads The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}