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{
    "id": 474020,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/474020/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 235,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill. I would like to congratulate my co-sponsor of this Bill, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, for moving it with passion, great information and well researched notes. I would also like to congratulate Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale for seconding this Motion with a lot of well researched comments. Devolution was meant to ensure that there is development in the counties. If you read Article 174 of the Constitution, the focus for devolution is development. If you look at the functions that have been devolved, those functions are functions that are geared towards greater local development. If you look at issues like agriculture, health, distribution of water and all those social issues that have been devolved, you will realize that devolution is key to achieving Article 43 of the Constitution which is socio- economic rights. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there have been arguments about why counties are unable to spend more money on development. One of the arguments has been that counties have inherited a lot of staff that used to serve the local authorities in the past and those who were serving the Central Government in their respective jurisdictions in those counties. The truth is that there is no law that makes it mandatory for counties to absorb all the staff they found in their counties. In fact, the law is very clear. It says that the counties can rationalize, assess, look at the staff that they need and look at the functions that have been devolved. Even if a particular person was performing a particular function in that particular county and they think in their own assessment that that person is incompetent to deliver that service in a manner that the people of that county can be proud of services in their county, they can dispense with that person. The responsibility of rationalizing staff, redeploying them and finding a different responsibility for them is not for county governments. It is the responsibility of the national Government and the Public Servcie Commission to now sit down and say, out of the 1,000 staff that we had in Elgeyo-Marakwet, they have only chosen to stay with 200 staff. Where are the 800 going to work and what responsibilities are they going to perform? That is not a responsibility for counties. Some counties are carrying a burden that was not given to them by law. What is expected is to ensure that those counties can 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."
}