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{
    "id": 436778,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/436778/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 12,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I beg to move that the Division of Revenue Bill, 2014, be read a Second Time. As the hon. Senators know, the Division of Revenue Bill is one of the most critical legislations that are enacted every year by both Houses of Parliament. According to Article 217 of the Constitution, every year, the National Assembly and the Senate must determine the amount of money that is allocated to counties as a precursor to the origination and conclusion of a second and even more important Bill, called the County Allocation of Revenue Bill. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, last year, there was a bit of misunderstanding regarding the role of this House in the deliberation and enactment of the Division of Revenue Bill, which misunderstanding was resolved later through a two-pronged strategy of seeking an interpretation of the Supreme Court. The court ruled in favour of the position that this House had; namely, that we have a central role in the legislation of this Bill. As hon. Members know, the other strategy involved a lot of political pressure which bore fruit. That is why this year, the process has been smoother and we are very happy that the Constitution is being respected. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I have said, this Bill has been brought in accordance with Article 218 of the Constitution. I just want to highlight a number of things that are relevant as I move this Bill for Second Reading. First, according to Article 203(2) of the Constitution, the national Government must ensure that at least 15 per cent of the last audited accounts of revenue as approved by the National Assembly is allocated to counties. So, the first question is whether the proposed allocation for this year meets the 15 per cent threshold of the last audited accounts of revenue approved by the National Assembly. It does. In fact, it exceeds the 15 per cent. It is right now at 43 per cent of the last audited accounts of revenue that were approved by the National Assembly. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that there is a bit of concern and which I share, from Members of this House and other legislators that we need to speed up and make sure that the Auditor-General and other agencies are able to do their work early enough. The National Assembly is able to approve accounts early enough so that we do not have to use a base year that is two or three years old. That is a genuine concern. Ideally, we should be using the accounts that are audited and approved by Parliament. They should 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."
}