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{
    "id": 476636,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/476636/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 357,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "would expect that, out of the Kshs.226 billion that we are now devolving to the counties, at least, Kshs100 to Kshs150 billion is devoted to development that will improve the livelihoods of our people. But what we are seeing is money being spent on issues that, in my view, ought not to be there. I have also noticed, because we manage the CDF in our respective constituencies that, on a comparative level, the amount of money being spent by the county governments on similar projects is very high, compared to what we spend on CDF. The other day, I went to a primary school where an Early Childhood (ECD) classroom had just been done. I was surprised to be told that the classroom had been done for almost Kshs.1.5 million. That is in a place where we are doing classrooms for as little as Kshs.600,000. I think this House can no longer just give money by way of Bills such as what we are doing now and sit back and wait for that money to be wasted. On the amount of money that we are giving to counties - and hon. Oner spoke very eloquently about it - when you look comparatively for example at Siaya County where I come from, if that money was to be divided equally, each constituency ought to get about Kshs500 million. But in the past one year, I have not seen a single thing that the county government can say they have done in my constituency. Yes, it is good and when the time comes, we will support the increment of allocations to the counties, but we must accept the reality. I think the mindset of most of those people that we have put in charge of providing oversight over the expenditure of that money still belongs to the past where we came from. In the last Parliament, I was one of the people who insisted that the kind of functions which we are devolving to the counties required that we had a certain quality of representation in the counties. I was on the forefront in moving a Motion here to demand that all MCAs should, at least, have a diploma level of education. But, of course, that amendment was shot down due to interests which were outside this House. A time has come now, when we must ask the question: Do the Members of the County Assemblies have the capacity to provide oversight over the monies that we are sending to the counties? On representation, we are 40 million people and not everyone can be elected to be a representative. Only a few of us get that priviledge. Even the Good Book that I read says that to those whom much is given, much is expected of them. We are giving so many functions to the counties and we must demand that the money we give to the counties is spent properly. The people whom we have given the responsibility must make sure that, that money is spent properly and that they have the capacity to do that. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, if we continue to give money, we would not want to see three to four years down the line with devolution, serious questions of inequalities in the country. Devolution was meant to be a leveler in terms of transferring development and providing quality of life to all Kenyans wherever they are. What this House would not want is that, three years from now, if we took stock, we only find that money had been sent to those counties, but not much is there to account for it."
}