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{
    "id": 571050,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/571050/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 207,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "This has been the main reason there has been unpopular legislation sometimes being passed in counties. This has also been a major source of compromise in what exercise very educated MCAs nowadays do. Nowadays, county assemblies are completely different from the county councils, municipal councils and the councilors we had before. We have people who have degrees and have served in various capacities in this nation. Therefore, they have capability to pass sound, good and useful legislations at the county assembly level. This has been heavily compromised. Madam Temporary Speaker, recently, there was introduction of ceilings to the expenditure of county assemblies. So, this Bill will go a long way to enhance and make this even more effective. Once a county assembly has got a ceiling of how much it can utilize, then there is no more need to have these funds either being controlled, regulated or dispensed from the executive account. One of the important things that we, as legislators, must realize is that unless counties are empowered by being given sound laws upon which to roll out projects and programmes, they might not go far. We must be mindful of the fact that these are the first county governments that we have. Since 2013, this is the first time that devolution has started to take root. For devolution to grow and survive, the counties need very sound legislative power. This power is vested in the county assemblies. Therefore, the Senate needs to do everything possible to enable, empower and strengthen county assemblies. Madam Temporary Speaker, lastly, it is also important, in the same breadth, that we, as Senators, are doing whatever we can to ensure that we give the MCAs the power, finances, mandate and leeway to do their work. However, that does not mean that they will not be called upon to take responsibility. In the current life of the county assemblies, we have seen unpopular spending of monies which have been allocated to the counties. For example, we have had several complaints about funds allocated for development and other uses within the county assemblies being used to pay allowances, travel abroad and other unpopular ways of spending money. So, as the custodians and people mandated by the Constitution to secure devolution, we must stand firm by ensuring that county assemblies act within the confines of law. It is important for them to exercise this new found freedom that they have of getting their own money directly, calling their own shots and directing their own expenditure. This must also be balanced by ensuring that they exercise that by enacting sound laws and spending that money wisely and in a way that will help the counties grow. Madam Temporary Speaker, with those few remarks, I support."
}