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{
    "id": 404519,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/404519/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 77,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In Marsabit County, that is what we are addressing. There is a situation where part of the county feels that they are not being consulted. Even if it is a perception, it is causing problems. If we have this kind of structure where from the beginning, all the leaders in that county can work together and issues will be addressed in advance, this will give us the assurance that there will be equitable development in the counties. When budgeting is done, the Board will have to look at that budget before it goes for approval by the county assembly. Right now, this is not the case because most of the Senators do not even know how the budgets in their counties were developed. They may not even be having a copy of the budget estimates. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the County Integrated Development Plan will establish whether the budgeted funds are used for the intended purpose. If we, the elected leaders; the Senators and the Members of the National Assembly, have no input into this development plans, then we will not implement priority projects for our counties. If this piece of legislation goes through, it will go a long way in curing a lot of the problems that we are facing now. This will also increase the momentum of devolution. If all the leaders of that county sit at a round table and discuss issues that are of concern to their counties, then development will be faster and everybody will be in the picture. The public will get information from all the leaders, unlike a situation where some leaders are not aware of what is going on. At the moment, it is very easy to mislead the people to think that resources are not being distributed equitably and it might result into situations where they resort to means which will jeopardize the development of that county. The purpose of this Board as provided for in this Bill is what we need to get our counties moving because it provides a consultative forum between the national Government and the county governments. Right now, there is a lot of push and pull at the county level. The roles of various officers are not clear. For example, they do not know the purpose of the county commissioner, how the national Government funds are going to reach the ground and how the county government will know what the national Government intends to do. The consultative forum as provided for by this Board will ensure that there is information flow and there will be no duplication of roles. As it has been rightly said, most of the funding is still with the national Government. Right now the public’s attention has been diverted to the Governor. The people are looking to the Governor to champion development at the county level, but nobody is giving information as to what is happening to the 85 per cent which is with the national Government. The officer in charge of planning will sit on this Board and therefore, this will provide a very good forum to know what the county intends to do with the funds that will be given to them by the national Government. This will also be a forum where all the other funds which are targeted for expenditure in that county will be tabled. We have funds like the CDF whereby each Member of Parliament is handling his or her own kitty. This will avoid duplication of projects in some cases. This provides a very good avenue for harmonizing the expenditure of Government funds and ensuring that funds are used for their intended purposes. The county government deals with particular functions like water, health and education at some level. We also have Members of Parliament targeting the same projects. This will leave out some functions which were intended for the national Government, for example, the infrastructure for schools. If this kind of forum is there, 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"
}