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{
    "id": 477308,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/477308/?format=api",
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    "content": "governments, it is up to county government which comprises of both the executive and the assembly to decide how they will utilize it. However, because of concerns regarding how money is being spend and the pressure between the county assemblies and the county government, our Committee together with the CRA, the Transition Authority (TA) and the Controller of Budget are coming up with recommendations that will, probably, be reflected in amendments to the law that will give some ceilings on how much should actually be available to the county assemblies and how much will be available to the county executive. If you look at the way the national Government works, there are ceilings for different sectors on expenditure. You cannot allocate money just the way you want. There are very good recommendations already submitted to the county governments by the CRA which set ceilings based on the structure that is there now. Our Committee strongly recommends that the county governments be guided by those ceilings that have been provided for by the CRA and the Controller of Budget. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, under Article 216 of the Constitution, we need to come up with recommendations regarding financial management for county governments. Based on that, they have been able to come up with recommendations. We have asked the Controller of Budget to make sure that is complied with. As I speak, some county assemblies have already gone to court on that matter to challenge the ceilings recommended by the CRA. It is in the intention of this Committee to come up with appropriate amendments to the law so that those ceilings can give proper guidance to avoid the challenges we have seen. We have been reading in the media, we have also seen reports by the Controller of Budget and the reports of the Auditor-General and so on. There is quite bit of concern regarding efficiency of utilization of resources. There are concerns about wastage, inefficiencies and misappropriation of funds. In particular, although we are concerned about county executives and the county assemblies, it is very important to appreciate that the responsibility for oversight rests on the shoulders of the county assemblies. To the extent that there are concerns about the way money is being utilized by the county governments, the first line of responsibility is on the county assemblies. They are supposed to provide oversight because they are required to approve all policies and all programmes on the way the funds are utilized by county governments. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in recent weeks, there have been concerns by Kenyans across the country that county assemblies themselves, rather than provide oversight over county governments, they have themselves become the concern because of the demands they have been making. They want money for travel. A lot of concern has been expressed over allowances paid to them, money for entertainment and so on. One thing we know in the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act, the county assembly is not mandated to carry out any executive function. They are not mandated to carry out any development projects. The function of carrying out development projects is the sole responsibility of the county executive. So, we expect the county assemblies to get their resources to allow them to carry out their legislative, representative and oversight functions, nothing less and nothing more. 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."
}