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{
    "id": 469130,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/469130/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 161,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I have an issue with Kshs20 billion conditional allocations. We must have full disclosure so as to appear transparent with regard to which county will get the Kshs20 billion. Table 2 simply says that donor support is Kshs16.5 billion. Expenses related to regional referral hospitals have been allocated Kshs3.4 billion. I hope that in the next Bill, we will get an analysis of the Kshs20 billion so that we know where exactly it is going. I think we have agreed, as a Senate, that our major role is to ensure that county governments receive equitable distribution of resources. If the central governments had already decided to give certain counties certain projects at the expense of the others, it is only fair that the national government takes over that responsibility. The whole basket to be allocated to counties should be given equitably without talking about holding counties harmless. That phrase of “holding some counties harmless” is another way of marginalizing the already marginalized counties by continuing to give revenue or more money to counties that were favoured by past practices. I am advocating that the Kshs20 billion be added to the Kshs190 billion and the Kshs210 billion is shared equitably among the 47 counties without talking about certain counties having projects that must continue. We want those projects to continue but we want these to be undertaken by the national government. These funds should be equitably distributed to the county governments. Madam Temporary Speaker, last time I raised an issue of the Transition Authority offloading national government staff to counties. This is a matter that is causing problems to counties. I do not know whether the attention of my colleagues has not been brought to this matter. Some counties are receiving as many as 3,000 staff. Kitui County, for example, has been given over 2,000 staff members by the Transition Authority. We are told that these staff belong to you and you should put them in your payroll. What is happening? The money we are giving will go to pay staff from the national government. Therefore, I want us to send a very clear signal to the Transition Authority that county governments will not take the staff they are transferring. Let them remain in the national government payroll because the government employed them. They know their terms and they have their pensions. They should not be taken to counties. My advice to the Governor is that he should reject the list that has been submitted to him. If we move together with regard to this matter, I am sure that we will go far. I am appealing to my colleagues, Senators, to take this matter seriously because if we do not, all the money we are talking about and giving to county governments will be taken by salaries and there will be no money being left for development. I hope that the Chair of the Devolution Committee is listening – I thank him for being here – so that he ensures that the Transition Authority does not transfer the burden of staff to county governments. This afternoon, Mr. Speaker ruled on the issue of the Equalisation Fund. I want, even before the Chairs of the two Committees bring their Reports to the Senate, to say that this is a Fund created under Article 204 of the Constitution to equalise what the Senator for West Pokot has just said. I agree with him that this is to equalize services. However, looking at the criteria by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA)--- 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."
}