Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1504395,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504395/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 306,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "South Mugirango, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Silvanus Osoro",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity to support the Report by the Mediation Committee as moved by its Chairman. As we support this Report, there is something that we need to ponder as a House. It is also important for us to guide members of the public that this is a procedure. There has been a misconception out there that Members of Parliament are fighting county governments or devolution by not allocating funds to the counties. That is misleading and it is a misconception. People should know that this is a process. Article 113 of the Constitution directs and guides us that where the bicameral Parliament has divergent views in terms of allocation of funds, then a mediation committee is formed. People who have been moving around, slandering and telling lies to the public that Members of Parliament are fighting devolution, are misleading the public. We live in very interesting times. For county governments to seek Ksh400 billion is not a bad idea. After all, we passed this Constitution so that the devolved units get a good amount of money. Resources need to be taken back to villages, to mwananchi and to the counties. That is not a bad thing. But we also need to live in the reality of time. We need to be practical with what is happening in the country. We all live in this country and know the status of our economy. We know very well that because of what happened in June when we passed the Finance Bill clearly means that we cannot meet our revenue target. And it could not be practically possible to allocate counties all the funds they wanted. This Committee has really overstretched itself to even raise the allocation by 24 per cent to Ksh387 billion. We need to ponder and ask ourselves this very pertinent question: Where does this money go to? It is going to the counties. It is not the first time funds are going to the counties. Every county has received funds since 2013, but where does this money go to? The President was here and he talked about corruption. If there is a place where we need to fight corruption, it is in the county governments. It is a place with high-level corruption that is massaged. We have created demigods in the name of excellencies. It is a very bad thing. If you move from county to county, you will hear very unique problems. Where is this obsession of governors fighting for the Fuel Levy coming from? They have enough money. Some counties receive up to Ksh13 billion. We are talking about Ksh387 billion of the shared revenue, but you are fighting for RMLF, which is less than Ksh10 billion. What kind of gluttonous mind-set is this? This is pure greed. You are all over and going to court, saying Members of Parliament get Ksh100 million. Really? The Leader of the Majority Party spoke very well and stated facts. Governors have 12 bodyguards guarding their homes. They also have people, in the name of kanjo, carrying rungus"
}