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{
    "id": 505356,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/505356/?format=api",
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    "content": "headquarters similar to that of Mombasa, they would need to wait for two or three financial cycles to do the county governor’s houses and offices. Therefore, it is important for us in that objective criteria to ensure that certain counties that have been dispossessed or disenfranchised are adequately resourced, so that they bring them to speed. I know also Tharaka-Nithi, the Senate Majority Leader’s county, needs a similar affirmative action. Those of us who might have been lucky to have some of these buildings that date back to the colonial period and still serve the purpose are a bit humane to realize that counties must operate from a certain aboard. Therefore, they must be brought to pace. We need objective criteria which should also serve as an affirmative action to those who might have been disenfranchised over the period. Lastly, all the time when I hear, particularly the national Government speak, I can see this captured in the spirit of this Bill where they talk about county governments not having capacity. You can devolve that function with the capacity. It is not rocket science. If I want to devolve a function and that function has professionals who discharge that mandate on a day to day basis, the capacity issues do not arise. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the national Government is creating a perception as if those working at counties lack the necessary competence or capacity. These are people, majority of whom at this point and time, are seconded from the national Government. A number of governors have served in critical positions in various governments. They have been Ministers, Assistant Ministers, heads of parastatals and heads of government agencies. They have come from the private sector and from various other sectors. So, to perceive as if there is a capacity gap is a very dangerous jargon in terms of defeating devolution. I do not believe you can devolve, give them sufficient capacity and give them capacity building even when a function has been devolved. Therefore, if these arbitrary powers were given to any agency, including the Transition Authority (TA), then you might have some of these matters with respect to devolution or unbundling of functions being extremely arbitrary and discretional that we would not know which objective criteria people would use to gauge this capacity. Sometimes I wonder whether it is those who are not at the national level who lack the capacity because you keep on talking about people having capacity gaps and yet you have been charged with performing those functions for the last many years and have not delivered even to any extent on those functions. Look at the issues you hear today; that someone responsible for health care saying that they lack capacity yet for the last 50 years, we had the absolute powers to discharge the functions of health care, but we did not exhibit any capacity. What is the miracle now that counties are in and we are talking about capacity issues? I have been a very big supporter of this agency but I can now raise sincere issues around its capacities. They have always given excuses why this has not been done. As we interrogate governors here, you realize that part of their problem is the TA. We do not want to give them that type of discretion but in totality. As we move this Bill through the various processes, I hope that we will find it fit in ourselves to sanitize this law so that we bring it in conformity with the Constitution and particularly, to discharge the mandate of the Senate. 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."
}