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"id": 195889,
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"speaker_name": "Dr. Eseli",
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"legal_name": "David Eseli Simiyu",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to also thank the hon. Minister for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 for coming up with this very well selected members of the Board. It has been an anxious time waiting for the Board to be constituted. Life has been at standstill in many parts of the country, especially Kimilili Constituency. So, it will be very good if the Minister would move to fill the vacancies in the Board when he constitutes it. Life has been at a standstill because I have been unable to disburse any bursary funds. There has been no money. I inherited about Kshs6,200 in the CDF kitty which was hit by bouncing cheques and left me with Kshs940. I have been totally unable to disburse funds to university students. Right now, they are supposed to be registering for exams. I have been unable to disburse any funds for them for exams. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the CDF is a very good innovation in the country. With the creation of new districts, we know that the District Development Officer (DDO) is the Authority- to-Incur Expenditure (AIE) holder. With the creation of new districts, many of them do not have DDOs. I am specifically mentioning Bungoma North District. We do not have a DDO. It means that we have to travel long distances to get in touch with a DDO who is far removed from the constituency and he might not be in touch very much with the Constituency Development Committee (CDC) that is constituted. So, I would like the Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 to also ensure that the new districts do get DDOs as soon as possible before funds are disbursed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, again, I would like to emphasise what a previous speaker said that the method of calculating how much money goes to every constituency by way of CDF needs to be looked at afresh. As matters stand now, large and poor constituencies like Kimilili Constituency are virtually losing out in the sense that the allocation we get cannot possibly do as much as it would in smaller and better endowed constituencies. So, I believe that the method used needs to be reviewed. Maybe we need to look at the idea of the poverty index and so on. We need to change it completely. There must be other yardsticks that can be used, so that people do not feel like they are being discriminated against on disbursement of these funds. I know various other people who are using the criteria of CDF calculation to calculate other funds like for rural electrification. I was at the Kenya Power and Lighting and Company (KPLC) April 24, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 683 this morning. It appears like that same criteria is being used. Usually a constituency like Kimilili, end up losing out. We get a certain allocation which cannot possibly even cover one location in the constituency because of its vastness. I hope the Minister will look at this particular part very critically, so that we ensure that our people actually get served better. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other part is the issue of the limitation on how much allowances to give. Here, I beg to support what the hon. Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry said in this House earlier on that if we will limit the allowance to Kshs2,500, then it also plays a role in the quality of people we can attract to be on our committees. I do not see a busy farmer in Kimilili Constituency leaving his farm to come and actually work for the constituency at Kshs2,500. I think that is a bit too little and we need to review that amount completely. I feel that part of the problems many CDCs undergo, in the sense that a number of their members might not be particularly prudent in management of the funds is because they are getting very little allowances. As they say if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. We need to review that very urgently, so that the CDC members feel that they are not completely compensated, but recognised for the good work that they are doing within the constituencies. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally on the amount, I know several speakers have mentioned that we should increase the percentage from the current 2.5 per cent. If we will empower our people, then they will be in control of their destiny and decide what development projects they want in their constituencies, the amount needs to be reviewed. Kimilili Constituency, for example, gets Kshs59 million despite its size. This Kshs59 million look like a lot of money, but it is a drop in the ocean. If the people of Kimilili Constituency were to be in charge of their destiny, then we definitely require more money than what we are getting. Otherwise, the Minister will need to move very fast and appoint the remaining committee members, so that this Board can start functioning and they can disburse the remaining allocation of funds. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir."
}