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{
    "id": 389265,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/389265/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
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    "content": "Senators, who are the custodians of the county governments do not have a clear plan or vision for these counties, then definitely we are planning to fail. It will not be a good thing. Madam Temporary Speaker, we started the process by passing the budgets at the county levels. I do not know how much we interrogated those budgets because they have to reflect the needs of the people. As my colleagues said, as the county governments go on with their business, they have to have the interest of the people at heart. As they come up with these strategies, they have to think about the needs of the people. We have to think of what is very important for the people at a particular time; whether a road, an abattoir or a hospital. They have to critically take into account the wishes of the people. We cannot do this if we do not involve the public. I have seen many counties putting advertisements in the newspapers saying that they will be organizing forums to discuss various opportunities in our counties. I wonder whether a newspaper reaches a place like Baragoi. How many people in Baragoi read newspapers? Are we really thinking of using other communication mediums which will reach our people in the counties? Are we thinking about the local radio stations that will enable these people get information about their counties? Madam Temporary Speaker, we, as leaders, waste a lot of time arguing which House is the upper or lower one. I think what is important for us is the delivery of services to our people. It is just a matter of time for us to know which county is delivering services to its people. We will know which county is doing well and which one needs to put more effort in their delivery of services to their people. After the last general elections, counties were put on the same line. They started on the same footing. However, it is important that we put in place these benchmarks so that we get to know what our counties are doing. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is also important for us as Senate to interrogate the Acts that are there. Is the County Government Act, 2012 relevant? I know when this Act was being passed, we did not have operational counties. Maybe there are some challenges that we did not foresee. Now that we have the counties in place, we need to interrogate these Acts and see which amendments need to be introduced so that we can give power and teeth to counties. When we say we need to plan, what are we basing it on? These are issues we need to look at. I think it would also be important to interrogate whether the Council of Governors (CoGs) is the best suited organ to do those particular things or not. I am not sure whether they have the mandate or not. It is something that I was just discussing with Sen. Zani; that, probably, we might need to think about it and maybe the other speakers who will come after me will give their views on whether the CoGs is in a position to do so. It is not enough to just say “require all counties to formulate, map and operationalize---- Is the CoGs in a position to do so? I am not sure whether it is the job of a political caucus to take care of the interests of counties and governors. Are they really in a position to ensure that the plans of each county are put in place? This is something that we might want to look at. Madam Temporary Speaker, I have heard a number of governors talking about going to get funding for their counties to support development projects. This has to be 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."
}