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{
    "id": 468104,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/468104/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 304,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I believe that the Transition Authority needs to guide the counties. The Authority should tell our governors and county assemblies not to be wasteful. As you know, for us to have meaningful development on the ground and for devolution to take place, we should not misuse funds. However, we should ensure that services are delivered. I feel that there are a number of grey areas in this Bill. By the time we came up with this Bill, it should have been very clear to us what the county executives and the county assemblies should do. What capacity were they supposed to have? I believe that the Transitional Authority was supposed to develop that. However, I hear that governors just sat and used some officers in the counties to come up with budgets. They used officers who are not qualified to come up with budgets. You will find that most of the work that is supposed to be done by the national Government has been factored in the county budgets. I feel that even though we are discussing how we will be sharing revenue horizontally when allocations have already been done, we could be in for a rude shock. A lot of money could be going to the national Government. It would have been good for the Transition Authority to build capacity right from the start so that our people can come up with good budgets. Notwithstanding the monies that we will get, I challenge you, Senators, to do some assignment and find out how much money went to your counties. You will find that hardly a billion ever went to your counties. The Treasury used to make sure that once the budget has been read, the money would be released towards the end of the year. They would release about 30 per cent. The rest of the money would go back to the Treasury. This time round, if possible, let us have those funds being disbursed immediately to the counties. Let us not fear the issue of capacity in the counties. If they say that they will devolve all the functions, as long as they devolve funds, then we should accept it. Why do I say so? It is because I believe that where there was a project worth billions of shillings being carried out by the national Government, there was some good trickle effect on the economy of that area. The rate of youth employment in such an area is also on the rise. I feel that money that will be given to the counties should be released early enough so that counties can use it and we make sure that development projects are achieved. As Senators, we should use county assembly representatives to carry out an oversight role. They are the ones who know what was passed by the assemblies. They will also be checking the executive - the governor and his cabinet - to see whether they are working to implement what was passed in the budget. It is upon us to ensure that we liaise with the county assemblies. With those few remarks, I support since I do not want to break the law."
}