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    "id": 333997,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/333997/?format=api",
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    "content": "want to give an assurance here that arrangements are underway right now with the resources that are available to make preparations for the county governments. Mr. Ethuro was wondering why I am coming here to urge officers. My urging here is basically reaching all other officers who are in the field. I want to assure the hon. Member that instructions have already been given by the Office of the Prime Minister for those who are concerned to ensure that they undertake their responsibilities and do what is required of them. For example, the Treasury has been instructed to prepare the Bills that I have just mentioned here. What I was doing here is to give Members the roadmap generally. I felt that this kind of information I also need to share with the House so that Members can know what is being done already to ensure that the transition is smooth. Mr. Speaker, Sir, regarding the amount to be devolved to the counties, the Constitution has laid 15 per cent as the minimum. We said that is the minimum and not the maximum. That is where we are starting from. The hon. Member will notice that the Commission for Revenue Allocation (CRA) has already started at 33 per cent this year and not 15 per cent. The Government is fully supportive of that. We will start there. In future, as the capacity develops, those figures will be reviewed depending on the capacity of the county governments to spend the money that will be allocated to them. So it is not a rigid figure because the Constitution has allowed for flexibility depending on the circumstances in the country. The Member for Parliament for Kisumu Town West, Mr. Olago Aluoch, has talked of Treasury mandarins. The mandarins are mandarins. But I know there is always the fear of the unknown and, sometimes, there is also the bureaucracy; the bureaucratic red tape where sometimes officers are not willing to let go quickly. That tends to make Government services inefficient. We are dealing with bureaucracy as a major impediment to service delivery in our country, the Treasury included. It is not something that is confined within the Treasury. It applies to several other Ministries and departments within the Government. I said that bureaucracy is an enemy of development. I am sure that with the introduction of performance contracting, if fully implemented, will ensure that efficiency is introduced in the management of our public affairs. Mr. Baiya equally talked about the need for capacity building and empowering the Transition Authority to perform its work. I have already mentioned that with the resources that are available, the Authority has been given the mandate to make the preparations so that when the county governments come into existence, they will not begin from the scratch. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Mr. Pesa is concerned about pesa, that is money. He is concerned about pesa for the retirees. I agree with that. I am confronted all the time at public functions by retirees who have not received their dues. We have given instructions to those who are concerned to ensure that, that money is released to those people. It cannot be right that people who retired long time ago are there wallowing in poverty and yet, they are officers who in their working lives served this Government diligently. Therefore, I want to repeat that something must be done and instructions have been given accordingly. Regarding the Provincial Administration as asked by Mr. Nyambati, we have witnessed something very strange lately where we have seen chiefs demonstrating and asking to know their fate. Now you wonder when did those chiefs meet and how did they know that they are in danger. We must be realistic and open and say that this is politics. It"
}