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{
    "id": 1505548,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1505548/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wambua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13199,
        "legal_name": "Enoch Kiio Wambua",
        "slug": "enoch-kiio-wambua"
    },
    "content": "they did not prepare those reports. Somebody else prepared and they were asked to sign because the person who prepared was not authorized to sign. There is a casualness in the handling of county resources. That must be stopped. Our governors must know if they do not know, that they do not own the counties in which they serve. They are just stewards of public resources. It is expected of them to be vigilant and act responsibly in the management of those resources. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I say this, knowing pretty well that the framers of our Constitution in their concept of devolution had an intention that the issue of resources is supposed to be organized in such a way that county governments must not perpetually just rely on disbursements from the national Exchequer. They should look for revenue streams within their counties without necessarily overburdening the local communities and raise sufficient funds to be able to carry out basic functions. However, the concern that I have and I am sure it is the concern of many other Senators here, is that instead of using their own source revenue streams to enrich county revenue to carry out basic county functions, many of these governments are using own source revenue streams as avenues for self-enrichment. I come from a rain-deficit region, an arid and semi-arid area. This is a region where we do not grow coffee, tea or any other known cash crop. I come from a region that is rich in other resources that bring revenue to our county. We have the best river sand from the region where I come from. I do not have the facts, but I would dare say that perhaps the river sand used in a big percentage of the construction that takes place in the Nairobi City County, comes from Ukambani. The river sand does not come cheap. It is expensive. However, governors have used river sand harvesting, as a way of enriching themselves and their cronies at the expense of the communities around, which the sand is harvested and the county revenues of Kitui and the region. I want to say this, as the Bible says, “The time has come’ and now as the Senator of Kitui County, I think that time has come, that we will no longer sit back and watch our resources being plundered for self-enrichment. We will not sit back and watch as our riverbeds are being turned into barren bedrocks. We shall not watch and see as people neighbouring rivers where the sand is being harvested are impoverished day in day out, as few people are just lining their pockets. This must stop. The other is the issue of charcoal burning. When I was growing up, we used to have significantly almost sufficient forest cover in the mountains and the hills around Kitui. Today, much of that forest cover has been cut down completely. People are burning charcoal and selling to urban centres. We are precipitating the process of turning our region into a desert. The people who do this, do it purely with their interests at heart, without caring a thing about the present and future generations' ability to benefit from those resources. As we send money to the counties, for them to be able to carry out functions under devolution, this House must also expect that the own source revenue generated by counties also becomes part of the resources that are used to enrich and better the lives of the people in those counties. As I conclude, governors must also become a little bit more innovative. It is true and it is not right, that every so often there are delays in the disbursements of money from 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."
}