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{
    "id": 1502674,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1502674/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 106,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatinga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13582,
        "legal_name": "Wahome Wamatinga",
        "slug": "wahome-wamatinga"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I agree with my colleagues that county governments do not have a framework that the national Government enjoys having such as entering into Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). We must also have a paradigm shift in the way we look at things. In some of our counties, especially in the agricultural sector, when it comes to water reticulation, the units are so little that they cannot achieve economies of scale. Therefore, this calls for a collaboration between counties and the national Government, so that they can realise some of the mega projects that have been conceptualised. We were promised mega dams in Nyeri, but we have been waiting for the past 60 years. With the kind of budgetary allocation that they require, the county government will never realise that because of its limited resources. That opens the door for us to negotiate with the national Government and neighbouring counties. As we enter into PPPs to realise these mega dams that can serve multiple counties, we can achieve economies of scale by making sure that we have enough numbers. My colleague also alluded to the fact that water reticulation is a major issue because of the old infrastructure. Truth be told, we have non-revenue water. That is water that is lost through pipes bursting or is siphoned. In some counties, we lose up to 70 per cent. If we can harness non-revenue water that we harvest and ensure it is supplied to households, we will have solved 70 per cent of our water challenges. It is the same case with agriculture. We have a few agricultural extension officers in some counties. We need to bring together economic blocs, so that it makes economic sense to have agricultural extension officers in all counties to enhance research. Most importantly, we need to ensure that we deliver by bringing services closer to the people. This can only be done through collaboration by national and county governments and formation of regional blocs, so that economies of scale and the numbers attract investors in this country. Before I sit down, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to commend the Mediation Committee that comprised both Senators and Members of the National Assembly for being selfless in the spirit of giving and taking to ensure that we came up with this mediated version, which I urge my colleagues to support. Moving forward, we need to up our game even in the collection of own source revenue in the county governments and ensure that we seal leakages and loopholes. Most importantly, we need to do more to improve governance, accountability and transparency, so that services are delivered promptly to our people. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support."
}