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{
"id": 1545722,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545722/?format=api",
"text_counter": 27,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
"speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
"speaker": {
"id": 13165,
"legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
"slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
},
"content": "There is one delay after another. Before you know it, we are on the 26th or 27th of March, like today, without having considered this particular Bill. Therefore, I want to request that we expedite now that there seems to be some headway. I want to appreciate the diligence of the Finance and Budget Committee, which has quickly considered this Bill. The only part where you have failed, Sen. Onyonka, Sen. Boni, and the rest of the team, is that because you knew you were coming here today and this was an extremely important business, perhaps you would have furnished us with the Report. Even I, as Majority Leader, move the Bill without benefiting from your wisdom as a Committee. I know you will share it, perhaps before Members comment, but I would not have had the opportunity, maybe, unless during the reply. I know the finer details of any Bill are always gotten from the reports of the Committee and the Members who serve in those Committees. Diligently listen to the stakeholders and guide the House into making a decision that is in the best interest of devolution. Be that as it may, I am glad that the Senate is making this rather informed decision to ensure that, pursuant to Article 202(2), we are providing a process through which additional allocations for this Financial Year of 2024-2025 find their way to the county. This is not a small amount, and I will rely on the wisdom of the Committee Members. To the best of my recollection, we are talking about in excess of Kshs60 billion. I am not sure of this figure. When the Whip, Sen. Onyonka, or any Member of Finance and Budget Committee will be speaking, they will tell us whether it is Kshs56 billion. So it is close to Kshs60 billion that needs to go to our counties. Even if we were to pass the Bill as urgently as possible and have it concluded, expecting that counties will absorb those funds, knowing well the processes of Government funding, is too much of a push on the part of counties. Unfortunately, some of these donor-funded projects are time-bound. If it gets to the end of this financial year, then the loan expires, and you have to renew the instruments. Therefore, it is an untidy situation. I hope that this never happens again. I do not recall a time when we have moved Bill for funding to counties this late into the financial year. Unless my memory is failing me, to the best of my knowledge, this is the latest it has ever gotten to. It is really unfortunate. So what are some of these schedules of funds that we are talking about and the conditional allocations that are being granted to each county from the national Government share of revenue? They include funds that are so basic, such as the construction of a county headquarters, a programme that began in 2015, almost 10 years down the line. Even if you are constructing, surely, even if you are the contractor, by the time you finish the second floor, the ground floor has started wearing out. What sort of building have you been building for more than 10 years? I am happy that this is the last batch of funds that you are disbursing to these five counties that have suffered. I hope some were diligent enough to conclude using other resources or getting contractors with better abilities and resources, so that the buildings have been finished up and these funds only go to pay for work that has already been done. That is my prayer. However, I know that it may not necessarily be true. 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."
}