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{
    "id": 607002,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/607002/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 91,
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    "content": "devolved. Secondly, Article 203(f) requires that development and other needs of counties are taken care of. We have not been told how development will be enhanced. Third, Article 203(1) (i) of the Constitution states that:- “The need for economic optimization of each county and to provide incentives for each county to optimise its capacity to raise revenue.” Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not see how this formula will encourage counties, which are contributing immensely to revenue to enhance that revenue collection capability. From what I see here, there has been a lot of emphasis on poverty which is right. There has also been a lot of emphasis on the expanse of the land of a county. It would appear that those counties which have high levels of poverty and expansive areas have been favoured despite that there is also the Equalization Fund to take care of poverty. What is happening here is that, those counties which are contributing highly to the Gross Development Product (GDP) of this country, which are also contributing to high revenue collections, have been neglected. That is why if you saw the last World Bank report, counties like Nairobi and Mombasa, have very little left to enhance their services yet those counties have national responsibilities. For instance, Nairobi has a responsibility to create employment, not only for Nairobi, but for the whole country. A county like Trans Nzoia has a responsibility to feed the citizens of this country across the counties, yet its contribution has not been recognized. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the formula or the criteria that has been put in place, we are aware that it is fixed for the next three years. It would have been better if the CRA considered putting up a formula or criteria for each financial year because we cannot sustainably use one criteria for all the three years because changes are bound to occur. The responsibility of CRA is to allocate or recommend allocation of revenue, but there are other requirements in the Constitution, for example, they have a role of ensuring proper financial management of funds in the counties. As I speak, most counties are not managing their funds prudently. Some counties are using all their funds to fund recurrent expenditure and no development at all. I am not understating the importance of recurrent expenditure because even as we develop, put structures of development and physical infrastructure, we need to make sure that they are running. What I am talking about is that counties are not running their financial matters in a prudent and in the required manner. For instance, most counties, when they prepare their budgets, in the middle of the year, without any reason, they re- allocate funds to levels whereby the intention of the original budget is lost. It is time that the CRA set ceilings or limitations as to how much counties can re- allocate or can revise their budgets because some of the revisions are not done with the public participation. Governors are deciding in the middle of the year which projects they want to do. Without participation, they just change to any level. Therefore, this upsets the Constitutional requirement of public participation. With those few remarks, in future, each county’s contribution to the GDP must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, this formula will not be sustainable because the difference between counties is growing larger and larger. As we allocate more revenue to 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."
}