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{
    "id": 1527183,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527183/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 333,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nandi Hills, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Bernard Kitur",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, secondly, I am supporting this Bill because of the functions that the CAIPs are supposed to do in spurring the economic development of regions. The CAIP that is being built in the county that I come from has stalled. If these funds will go down there to unlock the work, it needs to have been done like yesterday. Therefore, I support this Bill. There are several other counties that need to have these CAIPs that support the young people and the communities, especially those who are skilled in various aspects. This will promote the industrial parks within the counties. Thirdly, this should have gone well when I was talking about the community health workers. These funds will pay the salary arrears of the healthcare workers. As I indicated before, we need to re-look at this so that we do not have to entirely rely on donor support, even in the payment of healthcare workers. There are various support systems that donors will support when we unlock Ksh42 billion. Some of it will go the KISIPs. We do not see the work that the county governments do. We only see some of these projects that are supported by donors. Even as we pass this Bill, I call upon the county governments to find a way to utilise these funds in a transparent manner. I can see there is one of the KISIPs that is supported by African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank which has improved the informal settlements. Even in my constituency, we have an informal settlement which will get support for the first time. This will go a long way in improving the lives of the many people who live there. However, we still want to see more transparency in these projects that are being done back in the counties. I have also noted that unfortunately the Emergency Locust Response Programme still depends on development partners for support. I insist that we need to find a way to support some of these programmes in case some governments that have been supporting us decide, through new policies, to stop supporting them in future. I have seen this in the climate resilience investments, food systems and resilience projects. We must fund these very critical programmes, ensure there is transparency, and involve the young people in order to spur growth and improve the livelihoods of those back in the counties. The Kenya Livestock Commercialisation Project is also worth noting. Funds need to be released to the counties, so that we can promote people living in dry areas who depend on livestock production. Unlocking these funds will support the pastoralist communities that rely on livestock in a big way. The Bill has both unconditional and conditional grants. I am touched by the 10 counties that have instituted ways that enable them to have the unconditional funds through the fines, which I can see contribute about Ksh116 million and which we are approving today. I am impressed by Murang’a County by all means and standards. They have set up their structures that generated Ksh70 million. It is noteworthy to sometimes appreciate some of those counties that are doing pretty well. It calls now on the other counties to also have these internally generated revenues through the setting up of court systems, so that they can have additional revenue. It is a wake-up call to other county governments to look at ways of generating income for themselves. As I said, it is sad to only have 10 counties that are reported in this Bill. It is also very important to note some of the stipulations the Bill brings. Any agreements that a county government and a development partner will enter into shall be tabled by the national Treasury in this House and the Senate before being included in the Budget Policy Statement (BPS). This is for transparency purposes. It is important for this House to know so that even as we pass the Bills, we are also aware of any agreements that the county governments have signed with development partners. The Cabinet Secretary shall continue to publish, every 15th day of the subsequent month, a monthly report on all actual additional allocations to the county governments. This is very important for transparency purposes. This is another reason why I support this Bill. 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."
}