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{
    "id": 333393,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/333393/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 530,
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    "content": "Division of Revenue Bill and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill as required by our Constitution. We expect the two Bills to be brought to this House. I want to give notice to the aspiring governors. There are people in this country who think that because we will now give money to counties, it will be the responsibility of governors to engage in some conspicuous consumption and live large. These are the obese type. We want to make it very clear from this initial stage that the resources that are being allocated to the counties are for the purpose of development; they are for the purpose of ensuring that services reach our people. They are for the purpose of ensuring that northern Kenya can no longer think that it is in another country while the rest of the country is another country. The same applies to southern Kenya or western Kenya. Each part of this great Republic will subscribe to Article 43 of the Constitution where it is expected that every citizen will enjoy certain minimum standards of living in terms of education and health. I note with concern that in the entire budgetary process in the last two years the Government is still to come to terms with the Motion on devolution. We are yet to see the desegregated votes and allocations from the Ministry or the amount of money that will go to the counties. This Government must do this. Since we hear that they might bring the Supplementary Budget before we go home, we want to see a measure of commitment that there is thinking within the Government. If you look at the provisions of Article 222 in the Constitution, you will see that the Government is yet to come up with a budget and format in which it will present its concerns to the House. Therefore, these remain the concerns of the House even as we talk about resources allocation. How much resources are required to develop the counties? What have been the spending levels of the counties? Is what we will allocate sufficient enough not only to meet the recurrent costs of the counties as per now, but have a bit left to develop those counties? I will not take long. I want to conclude by emphasizing that the Transitional Authority has a job to do. It must come up with timelines. It must ensure that the transition to the county Governments, after the General Election, will be fully operational. For those of us who aspire to come to the Senate, I have seen hon. Dr. Khalwale ask the people of Kakamega to vote for him, I have also seen the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs taking the earliest opportunity, when the President was registering to be a voter, to ask for his vote. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the same vein I want to ask the good people of Turkana County to give me an opportunity to serve them as a senator. For all the tribulations I have gone through as I seek the Senate vote, it would be natural for them to know where their vote will go. But more fundamentally, the Senate will ensure equal disbursement of revenue from the central Government unlike the CDF, where even a Minister promises he would allocate money and they do not release a hundred per cent of it. That bad habit by the central Government must stop. Hon. Kimunya, you have been a Minister a before. We want to ensure that stops. All the money that we will agree on as a House to give to County Governments must be given in time and in all the amounts that are needed. I do not see my good friend, hon. Githae, here. With those remarks, I beg to second."
}