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{
    "id": 438707,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/438707/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 211,
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    "content": "you give pensioners a job, you need to give them timelines for outputs because they would want to continue “sitting” on pending bills for purposes of continuing earning allowances. So, the Departmental Committee on Finance, Trade and Planning needs to look into the Pending Bills Committee so that we do not have to deal with pending bills every Budget season. Hon. Speaker, the other thing that I note with the devolved units is their excitement with devolving everything even when they have no capacity for what is being devolved. We hear that county governments took over the suppliers. We need to address this matter more in the long term. That also affects the health budget. The problem of taking up responsibilities that the devolved units do not have capacity for and we leave it to them to think of policy direction will take us nowhere. Hon. Speaker, with that in mind I want Members to really give time to the Water Bill. I think it is time that we addressed the fact that all our waters, including water that is supplied to Members of this House is subsidised and we cannot have our sustainable investment in the water sector if we do not answer the question whether these investments are paying back. We can only do that by changing the systems proposed in the new Water Bill; what is there now is just changing names. I want us to think through sustainability of the water that we are supplying to our people. We should not overlook the fact that there are those we need to give water at a subsidised price. Why do I have to pay Kshs3,000 for a water bowser if the Nairobi Water could only increase the price and give me services other than just be waiting for services from the national Government and they are unable to sustain that? So, hon. Members I urge Members that we need to think outside the box and we will be requesting you that despite the fact that we have not produced a report on the Water Bill, this debate be delayed so that the thought process of coming up with that Bill goes beyond what we are dealing with. So, I also want to inform Members that our Budget and Appropriations Committee has also brought out the importance of public hearings. We are extremely happy that they were able to give us money for a dam that even the Ministry had overlooked, that is the Umaa Dam. They have also helped us conclude the Chemususu Dam that is lying there after Kshs5 billion investments and yet that water is not reaching the persons it is supposed to reach. We are also happy that they have given us funding for concluding the supply for the Kiserian Dam. The importance of public hearings is that we are able to bring out reality and respond to the people more than our Executive which seems to be doing more theoretical budgeting rather than practical budgeting. Hon. Speaker, finally, I want to say that if our Budget Office with the few staff could do great work because we get briefings from them, I think with the expanded staff we will be able to really put Treasury on the spot and we will be able to perform our services more prudently. Hon. Speaker, I did forget to mention something that the able Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee did. We are tired of acting like what the Attorney-General calls a mortician. We give money to these Ministries and the only time we interact with them is when they are asking for more or a supplementary budget, but we never monitor what they do. Therefore, I am happy that the Budget and Appropriations Committee has taken up this recommendation for us under the Ministry of Environment, Water and The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}