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{
    "id": 436904,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/436904/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 138,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was interrupted when I was saying that 43 per cent means in note two that Kshs226 billion is 43 per cent, as my good friend from West Pokot has said. I am also saying that these colleagues who represent counties should appreciate this point because we came here to fight for our counties to get resources. The Kshs226 billion represents exact 22 per cent of Kshs1.026.31 trillion. That is what the counties are getting. We are leaving a whopping 78 per cent of revenues with the national Government. That is why I said that this is a sad day for devolution and the excited colleagues who have been interrupting me had better listen because they are supposed to go out there and explain to their people. We came here to look for money for the counties. We recently assigned a huge bundle of responsibilities to counties. If we do not give them enough resources, we are simply setting them up for failure. This is what I am saying. I want to encourage the Chairman of my Committee for Finance, Commerce and Budget to please extent some respect to us, his Members. You have been treating me shabbily in the Committee and you cannot extent that to the Floor. I want to make my point because I represent the people of Bungoma, but I also represent a larger constituency sitting behind me and I have a duty to do so. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is a sad day for devolution because we have given all the responsibilities to the counties, but we are retaining all the money at the centre. You saw today, in nailing another six inch nail in the coffin of devolution, a violation of the Constitution in terms of reforming, restructuring and aligning provincial administration to devolution. A six inch nail went into that coffin. Those of you who are here to defend counties have a duty to speak out. If we want counties to function, then the Budget and the Division of Revenue we give must help them to function. I am aware of a county like Nyandarua where the Governor sits on top of a shop. He does not even have offices to work from. There are a few other counties like that. I am told that Tana River is the same. Therefore, the Kshs266 billion we are sitting here to preside over to hand over to the counties is a pittance or it is a drop in the sea. We have shifted a huge workforce to the counties. The county of Mombasa has been allocated just slightly above Kshs4 billion which is over Kshs400 million below their expected wage bill for the year. This means that the county of Mombasa will do nothing else, but pay salaries for a full year, have a deficit, sit there and say we have devolved responsibilities, duties, functions and everything else. This is the point I am making and when a colleague stands up in an excited manner and keeps on talking about 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."
}