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{
    "id": 536782,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/536782/?format=api",
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    "content": "have enough to meet recurrent expenditure, let alone development matters. Therefore, one of the reasons we raised this amount to the level that we are proposing is to ensure that the Bill that was passed by this House can take effect at the county governments’ level. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the National Assembly. For once, the National Assembly cooperated to a large extent on the determination of this position that we are currently in. I want to commend the Chairman for using very many methods to create harmony within the negotiations in the budget process. We are aware that Sen. Billow met many times with the Chairman of the Budget Committee of the National Assembly and agreed on many aspects. I am aware that our Chairman has continued to engage his counterpart in the National Assembly, including today, as we were negotiating this amount. Therefore, we also want to appeal to the National Assembly to see the sense in what we are trying to do here. They should understand that we do not just want to get some Kshs7 billion. Finally, if you look at the amounts that we have asked for, on two items, we are asking for conditional grants. These are amounts that are going to be given to counties only on the grounds that they will be used for purposes for which they are set. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the oversight related to those particular aspects is a lot higher than would otherwise be the case. This means that it is in the interest of the national Government to follow through and ensure that the money for the Level 5 Hospitals and emergency funds are only used for intended purposes and cannot be diverted into other uses. Therefore, it is important that we, as Senators, advise our counties that in the event they use money that is supposed to be conditional, say for a specific cause or function; it is recoverable by the national Government. It is important for us to point this out to the county assemblies so that at no time will that money be diverted to other aspects. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also important for us to point out that a mistake was made last year when somebody said that if you do not finish the money allocated to the counties by 30th June of the year, it will then be taken back to the national Treasury. It is high time civic education took place in the country, especially in the county governments to sensitize them that once money has been allocated to a county government, it can never be taken back to the national Treasury. Many people do not seem to be alive to that fact. It is the county Treasury that maintains that money, whether it is used or not. However, the fact remains that the money belongs to the county government and can never revert back to the national Treasury. Once again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Chairperson and, indeed, the Committee for their hard work and support. I want to appeal to my fellow Senators to support this Bill so that we can finish it quickly and avoid extending time beyond 6.30 p.m. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir."
}