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{
    "id": 606306,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/606306/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 134,
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    "content": "In my own county, and I am sure in a number of other counties, county governments receive money, other money will come from the national Government to finance those activities which have not been devolved. Of course, MPs also received money for maintenance of roads and also for other activities through the CDF. Madam Temporary Speaker, there is no coordination. For example, leaders in my own county have not been able to meet even to discuss challenges which emerged as a result of this new arrangement. There is no forum whatsoever. All we can do is meet in funerals, rallies, barazas and informal meetings. There is no formal forum to discuss questions of coordination. Today, a Member of Parliament will want to do a road leading from point A to B. The county government will also be doing the same road starting from point B with the hope of completing the road at point A. So, two authorities are working on the same road. What do you expect out of that? There will be duplication and wastage of funds. There will be nobody to be accountable for the use of funds. This is exactly what we were trying to address, but the efforts of the Senate were frustrated. Madam Temporary Speaker, the National Assembly, despite a Supreme Court advisory, continues to hold the view that we, in the Senate, have no role in the division of revenue between the two levels of Government. I believe that this is not accidental; it is part of that scheme. The latest decision by the National Assembly to reallocate money intended for key constitutional institutions, including the Senate, is part of that scheme, in my view. The question you ask is: What was the motive for the removal of the Kshs1 billion kitty? What instigated that removal? The Kshs1 billion that was intended for monitoring and evaluation of the funds allocated to county governments had been negotiated, discussed exhaustively and agreed upon. It was not contested at any one moment. What prompted the removal of that money? Why did the National Assembly suddenly come up with the decision to remove the money? What prompted the reduction of the money allocated to the Judiciary and other Commissions? The Members of Parliament are today telling us that they wanted to take that action to discipline the Senators and reduce them to size for making amendments to the Division of Revenue Bill. They wanted to discipline the Senators for fighting for more funds to the counties. They wanted to discipline the Senators for fighting for more money for Level 5 hospitals. That was the motivation for the action by the National Assembly. In reducing the allocation to the Judiciary, Members of the National Assembly were expressing their anger at the recent court decision regarding the legal status of the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). The reduction of money to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) was a message particularly to Madam Sarah Serem on who calls the shots. However, the effects of all these; removal of Kshs200 million from the SRC, money intended to meet recurrent expenditure of that Commission, will virtually render it ineffective. Then you can guess the impact to the country of that kind of an eventuality. Madam Temporary Speaker, the action by the National Assembly, in my view, was ill motivated, selfish and malicious. It was intended to intimidate independent 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."
}