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{
    "id": 639306,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/639306/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 176,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wandayi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2960,
        "legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
        "slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this very rare opportunity to contribute to this very vital Bill. It is rare because we hardly talk about the Division of Revenue Bill. I support the Bill. I have to because it talks about dividing revenues between the county governments and the national Government. As I do so, it is important to make a few remarks. First, I take note of the fact that the total allocation to the counties is about 32 per cent of the last budgeted revenues of the 2013/2014 Financial Year. It is still an issue. For how long are we going to continue basing our revenue allocation on very old revenue accounts? That is an issue that should occupy our minds. Hon. Speaker, it is a fact that allocations to programmes end up not being absorbed year, in year out. I am aware of many Government departments and Ministries which have not spent substantial amounts of the allocations for the current financial year. That should concern all of us. If we cannot ensure the money we appropriate in this House is expended on time, we risk engaging in a ritual, as it were. The only time the economy will grow is if we carry out development projects in all the sectors. The other area I am concerned about is that of infrastructure. Our economy can only be sustainable if we focus on infrastructural development. I look forward to discussing this matter a lot more as we move along. I am aware that a number of functions were unbundled to the counties. What is worrying is that, even after unbundling those functions to the counties, the requisite funding has not been provided to enable the county governments to perform those functions effectively. I have in mind the functions of health and roads. They remain contentious. To date, there is no clarity as to who is responsible for what kind of roads. That is an issue that needs to be settled once and for all because infrastructure is the backbone of any economy. If we cannot address the issue of infrastructure, we will go fast. Roads significantly contribute to the infrastructure. There is the matter of the Controller of Budget and Auditor General’s Office. We have said many times that the office needs to be improved."
}