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{
    "id": 1532474,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1532474/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 4727,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Baringo County, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Jematiah Sergon",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "economic advisors, plays a key role in determining where the Budget of this country goes. Members of Parliament, specifically members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, only pass what respective departments give. It is very easy to say, \"Members of Parliament, please give us equity when passing the Budget\". The equity does not start in Parliament but right from the government departments and ministries. We should ask them to distribute resources fully, and then it will reflect the map of this country when it comes to us here on the Floor of the House. People are talking about injustices in resource allocation and that some areas in the country have, for a very long time, benefited more than others in water, roads, electricity, or energy. It is because whoever sits there determines. The Executive plays a key role many times. As a Member of Parliament, my work is to oversee, legislate, and represent. As I do that, the Executive should help us represent the people properly by giving us the opportunity through resource allocation and distributing these resources in a fair and justifiable way. As a Member of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, I will be among the few who will be strict to see that resources are distributed fairly in this country. Apart from the teething problems people say we still have, the whole health programme is working. That was especially true when we introduced Taifa Care as a replacement for the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). This Supplementary Budget considers that. We must have consistency through not only government programmes but also the registration of Kenyans. They should learn that services are only given to them when they adhere to the rules and policies given by the Government to have the flow. On the other hand, I have a problem with SHA. I can see the proposed Chair of the Departmental Committee on Health looking at me. The claims done in hospitals are my biggest problem. Patients go to hospitals, are treated courtesy of SHA, and go home to proclaim that SHA is working. However, when hospitals' claims are not paid in time, the tendency is that registered patients might go back to the same hospital and not find their names. People lose jobs and the infrastructure of hospitals when they do not pay claims in time. There will be no proper way of sustaining hospitals. Giving services through SHA is one thing. However, make sure that claims are paid in good time. Officers within the ministry should be able to know when to reimburse given hospitals. Let us use Nairobi Women's Hospital as an example. It is a very critical hospital. There have been many claims that this hospital has been closed. Patients go there, get all their services, and go home happy. However, they ended up closing the hospital because it was not reimbursed in good time. This means the same or other patients do not find the same treatment and services. That is a key component in this SHA. We need to consider these things as we put money there so that it does not look like only some people are benefiting or we have only a few appreciating, while the bigger picture is actually lost. I also want to talk about education. Hon. Members before me have spoken about universities, the new model, and the dilapidation of good education programmes that used to be there. People lose the first and original track of academics as time goes on. We need proper management as much as we allocate this money. Who has the mandate to oversee management in government institutions? We will just be doing vain budgeting every year if we give money to universities, primary and secondary schools through Vice-Chancellors and heads, yet we do not have people who follow up to make sure the money is used properly and in internal purposes. Most rural public secondary and primary schools, and even schools in urban areas nowadays, are all in bad shape. You will always realise that Members of Parliament inject money into the same schools through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF). No one in the management or teachers care because it is a public school. You 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."
}