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"id": 184225,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/184225/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mudavadi",
"speaker_title": "The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government",
"speaker": {
"id": 84,
"legal_name": "Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi",
"slug": "musalia-mudavadi"
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"content": " Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, let me take this opportunity to thank all the hon. Members who have had an opportunity to contribute to this Motion, and for their very important contributions and comments on the various aspects of local authorities. There is still an opportunity, maybe, as we focus on the Votes at the Committee Stage, that they could raise one or two other points, which can be taken up by the Ministry. I will try to respond very briefly on a number of issues that have been raised, which are important. One is the issue of allocation of land. It is true that the case of land allocation in our local authorities is not a very good case. There are cases where this has been done either haphazardly or done without taking into account the capacity of the people who have been allocated that land, to develop it and make good use of it. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in many cases, people have been allocated land for speculative purposes. So, clearly this is an area which must be corrected. One of the issues we want to ensure is that local authorities enforce the requirements that are attached to letters of allotment, one of which is that if you do not develop the plot within a certain period of time, the right of ownership to that land reverts to the State. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is also the issue of the Kshs712 million for the construction of primary schools in a number of urban areas. I would like to enlighten hon. Members that if they look at the Estimates, it shows FRG. That means that this is a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany. It did arise out of the element of debt stop between the Kenyan October 15, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2787 Government and the Federal Republic of Germany. Contrary to some belief that maybe this money is not serving a good purpose, I would like to point out that this money is going to be used to finance a number of primary schools in Nairobi, particularly in the slums. We are targeting areas like Mathare, Kangemi, Mukuru and Kawangware. These are areas that, under normal circumstances have not been addressed properly through the usual Government funding yet they carry the largest population of Nairobi. It is, therefore, important that they get a lot of support to have primary schools. At an appropriate time, I will be very happy to take some hon. Members to visit some of the schools that are being constructed using these funds. That is Phase I for Nairobi. However, we also know that through the same arrangement, there will be assistance going to Mombasa and Kisumu. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the election of mayors and council chairmen is a story that has been bought and accepted by everybody. I would like to say that the amendment Bill is due to come to this House so that we can effect these changes and allow mayors and chairmen of councils to be elected directly by voters in their respective areas. There is also the issue of remuneration of councillors. I have always said that the welfare of councillors is not a simple matter, neither is it a joking matter. Indeed, it is something we need to look into very carefully and come up with a long term strategy to support the local authorities. There is always the debate on whether they should be paid from the Consolidated Fund or there should be another mechanism that can be used to ensure flow of remuneration, whether you want to call it salary and allowances, is determined and known. Then the whole idea of this becoming a topical issue at every other event can be put to rest. We are happy to listen to the various ideas that may come on the table. We, indeed, intend to work together with this House to have a lasting solution to this problem. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, clearly, we must also remember that once you are paid from the Consolidated Fund, in effect, you cease being local. This is one thing that one would have to understand. We will need to work on this so that, if at all we are coming up with a different mechanism, we must also be able to properly categorise these local authorities. We must also be able to figure out whether the viability of the 175 local authorities should not be questioned in certain instances. Perhaps, consolidation of some of them might be necessary before we come up with a lasting solution to this matter. Definitely, it is an issue that ought to be critically looked into. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to re-affirm to the councillors that the adjustment that was made to their allowances, a few weeks ago, is in place contrary to some media reports that it had been cancelled. That is not true. The councils have the circulars communicated to them. I would like to put that matter to rest. Yesterday, I read in one of the print media that, that had been terminated. That is a false alarm from the print media in that respect. I have also noted Members' concerns on the allocation of resources. There has been a lot of concern expressed that judging from the Estimates allocations from the previous financial year may not have reflected sufficient equity. This is something that we need to look at and I can assure you that we will look at it so that next year, when presenting the Financial Estimates, perhaps, we shall have less concerns expressed on that point. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also want to say something on Road Maintenance Levy. About 134 local authorities receive Fuel Levy Fund for routine maintenance from the Kenya Roads Board. In addition, the Ministry also receives a small proportion of such funds to contract and rehabilitate roads. I have taken note of the concerns of Members that this should also be allocated or distributed fairly. However, I want Members to note that there is the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) which has come into being and there is also the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). All these are going to become the new entities that shall be driving the road 2788 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 15, 2008 maintenance fund even in the rural areas. There is something which appears in the Estimates that I want to highlight. These are the European Union (EU) funds. I just want to let Members know that the EU financing agreement has been there for sometime. They have been supporting either markets or certain facilities within various local authorities. They could be schools and so forth. They have very rigorous conditionalities or vetting standards. We have partnered quite well with the EU and we have drawn from the experiences on how they have been supervising the utilisation of their funds. We want to bring this to the LATF management so that we improve its management in our local authorities. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, that brings me to the issue of LATF. It is true that since inception, about eight to nine years ago, LATF started off with Kshs1 billion shared amongst all local authorities. Now it has risen to Kshs9.25 billion. This has been shown in a Gazette Notice on how the funds have been distributed to all the local authorities in the country. Our desire and wish is that if the funds can be utilised very well, we shall be able to have a strong case to come back to this House and seek an amendment to the ceiling that has been provided by this House. As of now, the ceiling provided is that the LATF are up to a maximum of 5 per cent of the annual Income Tax collection in the entire country. That is what is shared between the Central Government and the local authority. If the management of local authorities can improve; and that is where we want to go, it is our hope that we can elevate this 5 per cent to a higher level even up to 10 per cent. This could be done provided local authorities can also show and convince the Members of Parliament that the money is doing serious construction work in the various local authorities. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to support the Members who have said that it makes no sense to release all these monies to the local authorities and then they simply start taking Kshs50,000 and distribute among the various councillors and say they are going to do a project. I think there should be a minimum threshold. It could be something like Kshs300,000 for the smallest project that can be undertaken by LATF. This would make more sense because it can then be tangible. But when you break down the programmes to Kshs50,000 or Kshs20,000 in some areas, that money is just being consumed and is adding no value to the local people. I agree that there are some issues about the management of local authorities which need to be re-looked at. When it comes to procurement, it is true that local authorities are not exempt from the Public Procurement and Disposal Act. They have to follow the rules and procedures under that law. What is important is that the chief officers must also be prepared to show and lay on the table of various councils the details of whatever they are doing so that this concern that maybe they are misappropriating funds, does not arise. This is something that they must take extremely seriously. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, regarding the issues of planning and mapping, I want to report that to date the Ministry, working with the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), has recruited 22 Physical Planners and posted them to various local authorities. We are in the process of recruiting another 57 Planners, who will be deployed in various local authorities to help them in improving on their physical planning. This is a programme under which we want to work very closely with various professional associations, so that they can help us in identifying competent people who can assist us in this area. We have noted the weaknesses under disaster management. These are issues that require a lot of resources, but I want to say that so far the Ministry has procured a number of form tenders. Not too long ago, Nairobi and Nakuru were given modern fire-fighting equipment and vehicles and there are a few more that are going to come and we shall give them to other urban areas. We have also taken note of the concerns about sewerage systems and the issue of street lighting. All these are important points. We also note the issue of contribution in lieu of rates. We are seeking Kshs513 million to be given, but so far the Treasury has only released about 50 per October 15, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2789 cent of that amount. We are still in negotiations so that they can release the balance and we can distribute it to the various local authorities."
}