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{
    "id": 639298,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/639298/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Bunyasi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2511,
        "legal_name": "John Sakwa Bunyasi",
        "slug": "john-sakwa-bunyasi"
    },
    "content": "Too often we focus too much, in my view, on the misuse of funds at the county level. First and foremost, we must condemn wasteful expenditure at all levels in this republic. That is now becoming notorious. Every day you wake up, the headline is about funds wasted, stolen, misallocated and all manner of things. It is equally disappointing whether it is happening at the national level or at the county level. We cannot be on a high horse to think that when there is theft down at the county, it is more serious than theft at the national level. First, we must condemn it and hopefully, as we go through the various Motions and Bills, we will continue to tighten the loop overall in the misuse of funds, particularly in the scandalous waste of funds. So, whether they remain at the centre or go down to the county, we must have equal concern. Secondly, just by the virtue of the magnitude of the funds involved, even if we went along this recommendation, we would have about Kshs300 billion going to the 47 counties and we remain on the basis of revenue alone, with slightly above Kshs1 trillion, which is a lot of money. All that can have a major impact on this economy if used properly. I urge my colleagues that we should give strong condemnation of misuse of resources at all levels and not necessarily celebrating because a governor has been chased literally or bundled into a vehicle and we then think that Kenya is doing a good thing on the use of resources. Remember they are taking Kshs300 billion and there is Kshs1 trillion before borrowing resources. This is all revenue that has been earned. It is going to be probably used by others for whom we shall never be able to get close to a police vehicle, but who might take the billion or the many billions. That is a practice that we must all work together in condemning. We are still at the initial level where we are allocating resources in a manner that, in a sense, we have to prescribe how counties should use it. As we mature in devolution, I hope these funds will go to each country and each county will use them in a way that is unique to them, so that they can elicit the fastest growth they can on the basis of the resource base they have and not on the basis of the assumptions made in Nairobi. That is where we came out of. Some counties will grow faster than others. If there is no fairness of opportunity, there will never be fairness of outcome. The fairness of outcome is going to depend on the efforts of each county on the probity with which they use public resources and how well they synchronise between expenditures and opportunities that are provided within their counties. That day will come. We are learning the hard way, but that day is going to come. As it is now, it is, indeed, right that we should pressurise the allocation of these resources. This is a health debate to carry on at a time like this on the allocation of resources between the national Government and the counties. For the counties, we will keep pushing while for the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}