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{
    "id": 1625617,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1625617/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 368,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Tabitha Mutinda",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the second is the Equalisation Fund Appropriation Act No.7 of 2023, which allocated Kshs10.3 billion for the recent financial years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 under the Second Marginalisation Policy. However, implementation of the Act is yet to be fully realised due to disbursement of the funds. As of June, 2024, the only amount disbursed is the first allocation of approximately Kshs12.4 billion. Remember, the Equalisation Fund was set to operate within a 20-year period. However, the Fund currently has outstanding arrears amounting to Kshs46.5 billion out of Kshs59.96 billion. This implies that only 13.4 per cent of the Fund has been disbursed since its inception. The lack of disbursement of funds has been caused by the Ministry of the National Treasury and Economic Planning. The disbursement of these funds has not been honoured by the Cabinet Secretary. If the funds had been disbursed as scheduled, prioritised and allocated, we would not be discussing arrears amounting to Kshs46 billion today. The Committee, having considered the Bill and analysed stakeholder submissions, made a few recommendations. One is the amendment to Clause 3 of the Bill by deleting the expression “204 (1)” and substituting it with “204 (2)”. This is because the basic services to be provided via the Equalisation Fund are provided in Article 204 (2) of the Constitution. Secondly, amend the schedule to the Bill in column two of Item 13, with respect to Kitui County, by deleting the word “Kisumu” and substituting it with “Kitui”. The emphasis regarding the Equalisation Fund is primarily on the arrears. As a Committee, we look forward to meeting the Cabinet Secretary, Hon. John Mbadi, next week, Thursday morning. This will allow us to engage him on the issue of the Equalisation Fund. It is a Fund that should have achieved its purpose, but delays have occurred because disbursements have not been honoured. 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."
}