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{
    "id": 385419,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/385419/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 26,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Musila",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 94,
        "legal_name": "David Musila",
        "slug": "david-musila"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support the Motion by Sen. Orengo. This is a very important Motion because it concerns the transfer of debts owed by counties to the central Government. Yesterday, several hon. Senators expressed their concerns that there are many debts that have been inherited by counties from the former county councils. If these debts are transferred to the county governments, these governments will not be able to deliver the services that are expected of them from the people. But of all concerns is the worry that this Senate has heard from the beginning that the Central Government does not appear to be supporting devolution. We were comforted when His Excellency the President was opening Parliament because he assured the nation that his Government was committed to supporting devolution. He even reiterated that the Government had no choice, but to support devolution. However, the events of the recent past do not support the fact that the Government is supporting devolution. I want to draw the attention of my fellow hon. Senators to an action taken by the Transition Authority (TA) last week. The TA transferred staff from the Central Government to county governments. Over 2,000 civil servants have been offloaded by the Central Government to serve in Kitui County. I am sure other counties will find even bigger numbers of civil servants having been transferred. I cannot imagine how many have been transferred to, for example, the Chair’s County, Murang’a County, if Kitui County is getting 2,000. This means that all the little money that is being allocated to the counties will go to salaries. In addition to over 2,000 staff that have been offloaded by the Central Government to serve in various counties, the counties are also inheriting staff from the former county councils. The county governments will have a very bloated payroll. On top of that, these counties have got debts which were committed by the former county councils. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the point I am making is that this Senate needs to stand firm. Since we started we have been lamenting about the lack of Government support in the counties. But we do not seem to be going very far. We need to move from rhetoric to some form of action, so that we get assurance by the National Government that they are, indeed, supporting devolution. The strategy is that this Senate takes action immediately to suspend, if not stop, the transfer of civil servants to local authorities because it will have a very negative effect on the functions of counties. For the information of the Senate, counties have already been given the names of the staff who have been transferred alongside their job groups and salaries, so that they The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}