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{
    "id": 497275,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/497275/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 163,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Billow",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 260,
        "legal_name": "Billow Adan Kerrow",
        "slug": "billow-kerrow"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Government Proceedings (Amendment) Bill, Senate Bill No.10. It is important to appreciate that the county governments have a lot of assets and liabilities, many of which are yet to be documented. In the transition to the county governments, there was a legal requirement that the Transition Authority (TA) audits and makes an inventory of the assets and liabilities. There are huge debts that have been taken over by country governments from local authorities. As we speak, the County Government of Nairobi has pending bills in excess of Kshs25 billion and there are many others. Remember this House passed a Motion to that effect that those debts be audited. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what I am trying to say is that in view of all those debts and in view of the lack of registration of the assets and liabilities of these entities, under the current law, it would be risky. What would happen is that the county governments would have their assets attached and county government officials would be liable in their own capacities. I think it is important to bring these amendments so that these institutions can be protected. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to mention, at this stage, that one of the challenges we have at the county governments today is the one of debts – not just debt that has been taken over, but also debt that is being incurred by county governments today. Last week, we were informed that the County Assembly of Nairobi approved a debt from a commercial bank of about Kshs4 billion for the County Government of Nairobi. The law is very clear that, except for short term borrowings like overdrafts to cover payroll exposures, the county governments are not mandated to borrow any long term finance, specifically for development or related activities, unless those debts are guaranteed by the county government and in this regard, by the national Government. In this regard, we are aware that the Treasury is still working out an appropriate legislation with regard to loans or borrowings by the county governments. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for any county assembly to purport to approve a loan of that size for development programmes without the appropriate legislation in place. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this amendment is critical to protect the interests of the county governments. These are institutions that have come in recently and they have many challenges and risks, not just by predators from this era, but also predators from the previous era who want to maximize on the lack of records and accountability in the previous dispensation. So, it is very important and I want to lend my support to this Bill that we should provide appropriate protection. This is the mandate of this Senate to protect the interests of the county governments and the interest of the counties. So, it is a very important Bill and I stand to support it. 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."
}