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"content": "allocation must be used for maintenance of county roads that is for the conditional allocation for road maintenance. The conditions are very clear. If adhered to, they can make it possible for the conditional funds to be used appropriately in the various sections. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, one of the things that was experienced in the preparation of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill in terms of the figures that were given at the various county level, also included the issue of ceilings that the CRA introduced, so that counties will control, manage and have a level of expenditure both capped at the county assembly level and at the county executive for those specific counties. This was going to be followed up by the Controller of Budget. We realize that over time not all counties are going to have standard programmes. Many counties have differences, for example, some have very good drafters while other do not and, therefore, some have to use more money to train. Some counties have to think about equipping their offices, the issue of public participation and how to use the money, so that it can go up to the ward level effectively. That sort of variation created a situation where counties begin to think about how they are going to interpret what they are going to receive and have it become useful for them within their particular counties. We went through that process very well with members of the various county assemblies represented by their clerks and speakers. Agreements have been made and they should be incorporated into the calculations, so that at the end of the day, not everything will have been allocated to them, but at least a proportion of 40 per cent of the recurrent budget is going to be reflected as additional money that is going to the counties specifically. All these proposals have been given, so that at the end of the day, operations and maintenance at the county level can be well run and projected. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I come towards the end of this, I want to say that it is very saddening that every time we go through this process of allocation, and as the other Senators who have spoken before me have said, we are very happy to give money to the counties. I remember that today, as I was sharing a lift with the Members of Parliament, they said what is very important is to keep harping on oversight on the little money that is there. For example, in the case of Mombasa County, a lot of the money has gone into recurrent expenses. Development expenditure seems to be overstretched. Therefore, a meaningful socio-economic development that we hope to be happening at the county level has not been seen. However, even with the little that has gone in there, it is possible to vet and use that money properly. As long as you are a public officer, nobody should feel as though their personal integrity has been hurt because they have been asked to account, because that is what is expected. It is also important to note, as Sen. Elachi said, that in many other counties, initiatives can actually be made now to ensure that they find ways and means of raising the revenue, so that the money can be used appropriately. I know that for the case of Mombasa County, we have been having the case of the port, because when it comes to looking at the port and deciding that this is revenue at the county level, national interests"
}