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{
    "id": 1566226,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1566226/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 276,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "consistency, transparency and synergy in the employment of health workers at both national and county governments. Health workers have long advocated for a national health commission. Hon. President William Ruto assured us that unveiling the Human Resource Advisory Council under the Ministry of Health would be a step toward improving their treatment. However, with the picketing on the streets, it signals yet another failure of this regime, which we must correct for this broad-based arrangement to succeed. Madam Temporary Speaker, county governments deserve Kshs465 billion because the functions allocated to them remain centralized in Nairobi. Many of us travel to Mombasa for conferences and are familiar with Nyali. One road that stands out is Links Road. Whenever it rains, a particular section is always flooded so severely that vehicles can become submerged. That road falls under the jurisdiction of the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA). The Governor of Mombasa is powerless to address it. Even the governor himself gets stuck in the same floods. The same situation applies to Nairobi City County. Roads flood, pavements become muddy and trenches pose risks to the safety and lives of Nairobi residents, yet the governor has no authority over them. We must return road functions to the counties. We must dismantle and restructure the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). If it is to remain in existence, it should be transformed into a parastatal or an entity governed by county governments. The funds allocated to road should be included in the Division of Revenue. We must also re-evaluate the mandate of the KURA. The urban roads that KURA manages should be clearly defined. There is no reason for KURA to be overseeing roads such as Bank Road in Homa Bay. When problems arise, they are nowhere to be found and yet the governor takes the blame. We must transfer health, water, agriculture, housing, trade and market services to counties and fund them appropriately. If we remain faithful to the Constitution and fully devolve these functions, then counties deserve not just Kshs465 billion, but the Kshs536.8 billion that the CoG has been advocating for. Madam Temporary Speaker, even as we push for more funds to go to counties, we must call out some of the bad practices observed in county governments. Just this week, a county appeared before the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC). It is a relatively small county by population. It has 10 elected Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) and because of this, the law has capped the number of County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) at six. When you add the county secretary, the county attorney, the deputy governor and the governor, the total reaches 10. The law imposes this cap based on the county’s small size, reasoning that six CECMs can efficiently manage it. However, what does the governor do? He appoints 36 advisors on all kinds of matters, including the Equalisation Fund and cohesion, as well as on issues one would expect the governor to understand before assuming office. To make matters worse, a county with only six CECMs has 31 chief officers. On average, each CECM has five accounting officers under them. That was not the intention of devolution. Devolution was not supposed to fund bureaucracy; it was supposed to fund development. That is why I put it out there that 47 county governments as the apex of devolution is a bad idea. I never proposed the removal 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."
}