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{
"id": 1613573,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1613573/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4613,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Alego Usonga, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Samuel Atandi",
"speaker": null,
"content": "As I said when I was moving this Motion, we have made one of the most accurate revenue projections in history. To show you that this is accurate, the revenue projection which was presented by the National Treasury is way less than what our own Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), our own fiscal and economic think tank of Parliament, which I said yesterday is globally rated, presented. Their projection is higher than the one which was presented by the National Treasury. This shows that for the first time, we are being more realistic. Even in the past, our revenue projections have always been accurate. Whereas, in the past, the National Treasury has projected higher revenue, we normally project lower revenue, which is what Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) achieves in the end. On the Equalisation Fund, the concerns are real. Kenyans cannot see the projects that are being performed by the Equilisation Fund. When this Fund comes to an end, it will be very difficult for Kenyans to see the impact. This is something which the National Treasury has taken note of, and because some of those projects are implemented by counties, we urge the counties to change. We have less than five years. Those are genuine concerns, and the National Treasury and the Budget and Appropriation Committee have taken note of them. There were concerns about the Judiciary budget. As a House, we have fully funded the Judiciary. We have given them the resources they need, especially for hiring new judges. Regarding the infrastructure in the Judiciary, I urge Members of Parliament to supplement the efforts of the Judiciary in funding the infrastructure using the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). I know Members who have spent their NG- CDF on constructing courts. This is something I would like to urge Members of Parliament to consider. Regarding the allocation of resources to counties, it is worth noting that although the share of allocation to counties in this Bill is Ksh405 billion, there is an additional Ksh74 billion in conditional allocations that will also be due to the counties. In the end, counties are going to receive a total of Ksh474 billion. This is not a small amount of resources. We have complaints in this House that our governors are a let-down, that the resources that we have given them, they have not spent them wisely and that they are abusing their powers in the counties. Those are facts that have been raised by Members and, therefore, we believe that the Ksh474 billion that is going to be sent to the counties will be good enough for our counties to realise development. Lastly, I want to say that there is also a notion that not enough functions have been devolved in the health sector. If you look keenly at the Budget for the Ministry of Health in Nairobi, all allocations are purely for National Government functions. For example, we have more than six Level 6 referral hospitals. All of those hospitals are funded from the budgets of the National Government. There is no way of transferring budgets for national referral hospitals to the counties. That would be wrong. So, when you see the budget for the Ministry of Health in Nairobi, as large as it may look, it is meant for the National Government functions, some of which involve primary health care. The campaign and fight for more resources by governors need to stop. We want governors to now focus on the implementation of development programmes in their counties. We cannot have governors only thinking about sponsoring court cases against the National Government. They want to grab everything, but they are not performing. They are not utilising those resources properly. Once again, I thank this House for this debate. On Tuesday, we will be discussing the Committee of Supply, and I know Members will deliberate and allocate resources where it is needed. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to reply."
}