Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 605264,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/605264/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 343,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kagwe",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 229,
        "legal_name": "Mutahi Kagwe",
        "slug": "mutahi-kagwe"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, from the outset, I want to say that I support the Bill. I qualify that even though I support the Bill; there are many aspects of the Bill that I would like to see differently. I disagree with those who say that devolution has had no effect on communities and people because the Committee on Information and Technology last week completed visiting 27 counties. In two years, we have seen every aspect of people’s lives get different from before devolution. That is why I wonder what the enemies of devolution think when they say that they do not like or want to see devolution. For the first time in a county like Nyeri, we have ambulances that pick the sick from villages. For the first time in our counties, we are seeing hospitals that are beginning to work. This is the first time that this is happening as opposed to popular opinion. The other aspect that we must remember about devolution is that we must keep in mind that economics works on the basis of money that has been devolved downwards through the multiplier process. Money is multiplied because it is with the people. The more money you can multiply in different people’s hands, the bigger the economy and the greater the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is an aspect that we never talk about or do not see, but that is probably the biggest aspect of devolution; that there are those youths and workers in hospitals who can spend a little bit more money in the counties because that is where they are working. There are Government or county officers who can buy a little bit more unga from the kiosk and because they can do so, the person working in the kiosk can employ one more person. That is how the economy begins to move and work all over the world. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for us to pretend that we cannot see that, and for those who do not like devolution to pretend that it was always the case, prior to devolution, is at the very least dishonest. While we can see that money has been allocated to the various counties, never mind the pros and cons of it, I think that one of the things that we must also remember is that the ultimate ambition of devolution is that counties are supposed to sustain and develop themselves to the extent that like other nations of the world, there will be counties that will actually contribute backwards to the economy, rather than just accepting money from the national Government. If you look at some of the most devolved countries, for example, in India, where 65 per cent is devolved counties, you will find that there are some counties there that actually give net wise money to the Government and not the other way round. I think that it is good for us to have a vision about tomorrow’s devolution. How will counties be devolved tomorrow? What sort of devolved system are we going to have in another 50 years, long after we are not here? It is today that the foundation of what is going to happen in the next 50 years has got be laid. If we do not do that, in the next 50 years, when our grand children will be sitting in this House, they will still be talking the same language. That will be failure on our part. 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."
}