Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1495079,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495079/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 205,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "I will do this in quick succession because I will take two minutes to support this Motion. I want to congratulate Sen. Beatrice Ogola for moving this mediated version of the National Rating Bill. I am privileged to serve on the County Public Accounts Committee. The Senator for Kakamega should note that as we talk today, the County Government of Kakamega, Lamu, Nandi, and many other county governments, including Bomet, do not have a complete asset register that gives rise to valuation role. The definition of a valuation role is for local taxation to value property where you are using rating to value those properties. Many counties do not meet the Own Source Revenue targets because they do not have a complete asset register and a valuation role to allow the valuation to be done on those properties and allow the county governments to levy either local taxation or charges or fees. Therefore, I would also request this Committee to recommend that the Transitional Authority by Kinuthia Wamwangi in 2013, an Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee, fast-track the transfer of assets and liabilities to county governments to allow them to have a complete asset register and, therefore, to give them rights to do the valuation role. It has been a challenge. I am happy the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget of the Senate refused to reduce the allocation to the counties. As a Senate, we are proposing through Division of Revenue Act (DORA), which we passed overwhelmingly, to have it at Kshs402 billion. The amended DORA that came back from the National Assembly had been slashed to Kshs380 billion, which was way below Kshs385 billion that we suggested last financial year. The only hope is in fiscal discipline and responsibility in counties. We have already encouraged them to do Own-Source Revenue (OSR). The only way to ensure counties maximize OSR is passing the mediated version of the National Rating Bill (National Assembly Bills No.55 of 2022) and through the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGTRC), get them a valuation role, so that they can rate and evaluate their property in order to rise up to the OSR. The IGTRC should also come on board. I want to pass my deepest condolences to the parents who lost a child at Longisa Hospital; it is heartbreaking. I would have expected my friend, the Governor of Bomet County, to have taken decisive action. I expected that the Committee led by Sen. Mandago would be on site at Longisa Hospital to find out. I have seen my lecturer of Law, Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda Odhiambo, SC, is one of the chief campaigners of Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga. I was surprised to see him in the African Union (AU) the other day. He taught me that there is responsibility of emergency medical care, where you do not need to pay. That child died writhing in pain at Longisa Referral Hospital. In fact, that hospital should not be called referral. It should be closed. It is so tragic that a baby is dying because parents cannot afford to pay money. I would have expected the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and any other person who is in charge of that hospital to resign out of good faith and morality. The Governor should have fired them like yesterday. 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."
}