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{
    "id": 643298,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/643298/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1090,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, first of all, I thank the Departmental Committee on Health, which is headed by its able Chair, the Member for Kitui South, Hon. (Dr.) Rachel Nyamai. This is one of the landmark Bills that this House has passed. It is commendable that at long last we have come to the tail end of the passage of this Bill. Even as we pass the Health Bill, the question of healthcare provision within the counties is still a matter of great concern. As we move forward, when the Constitution was promulgated about six years ago, there was the understanding and agreement that 20 per cent of the Constitution would, at some point, require to be reviewed. The issue of health services in the counties is a matter that we need to relook at. Most county governments have failed miserably to provide healthcare services to our people. But it becomes more depressing every day when you read stories in newspapers. In fact, it borders on criminality to find a governor reallocating money meant for buying medicine to travel services to pamper his ego. At some point, as a country, we have to relook at the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution and agree whether, to the extent provided now, we really want to have health services devolved. What is happening in many county referral hospitals is that morgues have become banquet halls for rats because county governments cannot even preserve dead bodies or provide basic medicare services. So, we owe it to the people of this Republic, as the law-making organ of this country, to relook at the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution so that we rethink this whole idea of transferring almost en masse healthcare services to county governments. I think it has failed miserably and our people are suffering. We cannot sit here merely because some of us, in our privileged positions, can afford superior healthcare services while we are not looking back to see what the people we represent go through. 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."
}