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{
    "id": 1566225,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1566225/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 275,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "could be the ideal situation, but I will go with the Senate position of Kshs465 billion, which closely aligns with what the ODM party and the UDA parties signed up for in the 10-point memorandum. The two parties agreed to protect and strengthen devolution, to increase funding to county governments and to protect devolution against claw back. In the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), it was proposed that counties should receive no less than Kshs450 billion. For those of us who recognize the Broad- Based Government, we can only acknowledge it if it delivers Kshs450 billion to county governments. Beyond politics, science, figures and economics will influence our decision as a House on how much goes to county governments. First, the Constitution requires that the basis for the division of revenue between national and county governments be the latest revenue estimates as audited and approved by the National Assembly. However, this Bill proposes using the financial year 2020/2021 as the base. That is wrong and unconstitutional. The Hon. Justice Jairus Ngaah made a landmark ruling in October last year, stating that when the Constitution specifies timelines, they are not optional or mere suggestions, but mandatory. Parliament must review, adopt, consider and debate audited reports within three months of their presentation. By now, the National Assembly should have already adopted the revenue estimates for financial year 2023/2024. It is, therefore, wrong for them to claim that the financial year 2020/2021 should be the basis. On that point alone, someone may challenge Parliament’s decision in court, arguing that it is unconstitutional to base revenue on estimates that are four years old. If the revenue share were based on the financial year 2023/2024, then it would be possible to yield to counties the Kshs465 billion proposed by the Senate. Secondly, county governments face non-discretionary expenditures, which arise from national Government policy. We had that conversation previously. CHPs represent an expenditure placed on county governments. The UHC staff who I believe are the ones picketing outside Parliament and doing so rightfully. I saw a headline stating, 'The nursesthat nobody needs .' This is a sick country. We cannot have a situation where nurses are deemed unnecessary. We cannot train and educate our nurses only to export them to Qatar or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while our own people remain sick. We must ensure that UHC workers are employed under proper and decent terms of service. Instead of spending time in the corridors and streets of Nairobi picketing, they should be dispensing and delivering healthcare to the sick in this nation. This will ensure the success of the Social Health Authority (SHA), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and other national government programmes. This can only be achieved if county governments are adequately financed. The UHC workers are concerned that transferring them to county governments will result in 47 different employers, each with their own management styles and unpredictable approaches. They seek certainty and a structured scheme of service that is predictable. This is why we must recall the Cabinet Secretary for Health to explain what the Human Resource Advisory Council under the Ministry of Health is doing to ensure 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."
}