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"id": 1588137,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1588137/?format=api",
"text_counter": 1219,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": "find that the county allocations reveal that eight counties account for 60 per cent of the Ksh16.8 billion as per the Financial Years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 allocations. There are many challenges. The Equalisation Fund was initially implemented through various ministries such as the Ministry of Health, Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) and other agencies to ensure these areas got services. This met challenges necessitating change of regulations. The Committee proposed amendments in this Bill. The allocated funds will not be deposited into the county revenue fund accounts. Instead, they will be transferred directly to a special purpose account, opened by each beneficiary county, at the Central Bank of Kenya. This arrangement enhances financial control and ensures that the funds are used exclusively for their intended purposes. We have seen diversion of money meant for the health function. That is how we came up with the Facilities Improvement Financing (FIF) to make sure that money that is allocated for health is used for health. Therefore, the enactment of this Bill constitutes sufficient legal authority for the Controller of Budget to approve and authorise withdrawals from the Fund, streamlining the disbursement process. In addition, the Bill also provides that once the Controller of Budget authorises a withdrawal from the Equalisation Fund and the secretary of the board submits written instructions through the National Treasury requesting the release of the funds, these documentations constitute sufficient authority for the CBK to effect payment from the Fund account. This ensures that there is some accountability and the money is going directly to those projects. When you look at the allocations in terms of the schedule which is there, First Schedule, allocation per county and per constituency, they have projects which have been approved by the board. Therefore, if the money is diverted into other issues, then you have pending bills. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as we speak, we have pending bills from the first disbursement and money that is lying about within the ministries not having been utilised because there were hitches in as far as legal challenges that came in during that time where we had governors going to court and we even had amendments to the regulations."
}