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{
    "id": 536807,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/536807/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 125,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I was initially very excited by this. I have also listened to the divergent views that have been given by governors, medical stakeholders and practitioners. We need to have a candid discussion between all these groups of people before we make up our minds so that we do not get excited. We should not help people and yet ten years down the line, we realise that this was just another corruption scandal. This must be done in the right way. Yes, it is good, but consultations must be done widely and conclusively. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let people talk to one another and not at each other. Let us not lecture each other, but with one another. The national Government must do things above board and on the table so that we do not leave room for suspicions. We should ensure that everything is put on the table. Governors should not be used to rubber stamp what they do not understand. Let this be explained properly so that we know why it is better to lease and not to buy. Let people do evaluation on the cost benefit analysis of why it is better to lease and not to buy and what benefits or economies of scale we will get so that we get value for our money. I support that discussion that the Committee has already put in the Report and hope that this will be done in the proper way. I also note that in the past year, we had an issue in terms of audited reports. We had delays. Even if we are not up to date, I want to note that this is an improvement. We are basing this Bill based on the 2012/2013 Financial Year audited accounts. We should not be begging every time for the Reports to be up to date. The National Assembly must do it, especially the Public Accounts Committee which must carry out its responsibility in making sure that audited reports are up to date, tabled and deliberated on. When we are handling division of revenue, we should not be asking why the accounts are not up to date. We spoke about this last year and even the year before. With that, I support and hope that we can also encourage county governments to ensure that as they do their budgets, their priorities are very clear. This has to be emphasized because there are areas where we need more money in terms of maternal healthcare which is still below par. We have improved, but we are not still doing very well. We are still losing very many mothers and many children at birth which should not happen. Counties have a role to play and I hope that we will have the free maternity programme carried out by the national Government being carried in collaboration with the counties because that is where the hospitals are."
}