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{
    "id": 1521332,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1521332/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to add my voice to this very important debate on the proposed legislation concerning the management of the Equalisation Fund. The drafters of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 thought it wise to develop Kenya as a unit, which is very important. That is why Article 204 of the Constitution provides the Equalisation Fund. This was upon the realisation that some areas of this country are not as developed as others. This Fund has been utilised in some areas. Even testimonies on the Floor of this House show that the Fund has done a good job. The need to recognise that Kenya needs to develop as a unitary country was important. However, before I speak to the legislative proposal, I would like to introduce some dimensions which may have led to discrimination in determining the areas that need to be considered for the Equalisation Fund. I come from Meru County. If you tell anybody that Meru County may need the Equalisation Fund, they will refuse. This is because they think the county is 'on top of Mount Kenya or Nyambene Hills', which has all the water you can imagine. In fact, we have trees or twigs that are chewed, miraa, which may make one imagine that Meru County does not require an Equalisation Fund. This is why Members of this House pushed for the formula to stop recognising counties and instead recognise sub-locations. The exercise that followed was to find out whether the Equalisation Fund can be spread further and leaner. My constituency is Tigania West, which borders Isiolo County. For practical and theoretical purposes, Tigania West is an Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) to a large extent. From the content used to develop the formula for the Equalisation Fund, the people of Tigania West are considerably locked out. One of the parameters that they look at is proximity to a school. In Tigania West, people have occupied every available piece of land, whether arid, semi-arid, dry or desert. They live everywhere in the county. If people from Isiolo County get an Equalisation Fund, yet those from Tigania West cannot get the same, there is a problem. This is because our problem is a shortage of land due to the increased population that has occupied all parts of the countryside. The idea is that vast tracts of land are idle in some areas. Therefore, the people who live in those areas or make a living from there should qualify to benefit from the Equalisation Fund. This is based on the parameters, such as proximity to a school, health facilities, watering points, and motorable roads. People cannot live in the countryside without a school. This is because they need to educate their children. We need to look at the state of the school; how has that particular school improved? I have schools in a pathetic situation despite trying to bring them up. The funding in the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) alone is insufficient to improve the schools. Additionally, the effort made by the Ministry of Education is not enough. So, the Equalisation Fund is important in some of these areas. When we proposed that these areas be looked into, a team was sent from headquarters to re-assess. However, they used the same The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}