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{
    "id": 499009,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/499009/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 294,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kajwang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 164,
        "legal_name": "Gerald Otieno Kajwang",
        "slug": "otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I had raised some kind of point of order earlier, but I now want to debate on this issue. I have been talking to hon. Sang who has been advising me that this Bill is progressive although the word “progressive” does not appear here. However, he has shown me the principle law that we are trying to amend says at 107(b); “over the medium term, a minimum of thirty per cent of the county government’s budget shall be allocated to development expenditure.” Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, as I had said earlier, immediately we raise this to 40 per cent any county assembly that will not allocate a minimum of 40 per cent to development will have gone against the law. That is what we are saying. Some city counties are in serious problem. I do not know how we will cushion them so that this law does not penalize them for paying salaries. Their own salaries alone take almost the entire budget that they have. We did not see these salaries when we were coming up with the original law. This original law was made when we were thinking that members of the Public Service would be paid by the national Government. We did not know that out the 15 per cent, that is what we would use to pay doctors, nurses, fund the Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) and pay all other workers in the city like the Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), among others. This is becoming very tricky. We may design the law to read 40 per cent, but at the same time, penalise county governments for spending less than what they are supposed to spend on development when they do not even have it. That is my fear. 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."
}