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{
    "id": 644318,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/644318/?format=api",
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    "content": "corruption in this country. He talked about devolution. He said it is the hope of every Kenyan to see that devolution works and benefits the nation. We do not want to see any part of the country lag behind in terms of development. However, he asserted that it is unfortunate that the dream of devolution has not come true. Mr. Speaker, Sir, over the last three years, more than Kshs1 trillion has been devolved to the county governments. The hope was that the Kshs1 trillion which has been equitably distributed among the 47 counties could be seen and felt. However, the opposite in virtually all the counties is the truth. Almost nowhere throughout the country can the effect of the Kshs1 trillion be felt. Members will recall that when the President asked his rhetorical question; whether the Kshs1 trillion is being felt on the ground, the answer from the Floor of this House was that it is not being felt anywhere. Hon. Members of the National Assembly and Senators who were in that gathering realised that in truth, this money is not being felt. Where did it go and why is it not being felt on the ground? I was very happy when I heard the President say on paragraph 77, that he joins Kenyans in demanding total accountability. To use his words, he said; “This is your money.” He ended by saying that there are no, and there will be no sacred cows in this country. What is the truth in the counties? Earlier this afternoon, I specifically raised the issue about Murang’a County. When Murang’a County Assembly brought impeachment proceedings against the Governor of Murang’a, the issue went to a committee and it was found that the threshold had not been reached in terms of what was expected to get to an impeachment. We accepted that report because it was a report of our own committee. There was nothing else that could be done. However, several answers of exactly what happened to the money that was said to have been misappropriated were not given to the people of Murang’a County and the people of this nation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Murang’a County Assembly, like all the other county assemblies, is closest to the people and knows exactly what is happening on the ground. The Senate is just like a Supreme Court where only issues of law are brought, but the facts are known at the ground level. So, when we come to the Senate and trash issues that have been brought by a county assembly, because I think that is what was done, it becomes unfortunate in the sense that the truth never comes to be known. I commend the Committee for the issues it raised. It said that the issues must be looked into further, so that the people of Murang’a, like the people of other counties, can be assuaged and know that Article 96 as being properly pursued by the Senate never came to fruition. Six months later, the people of Murang’a are still waiting to be told what happened. They are asking exactly what the President said. He said that there are no sacred cows and he joins Kenyans in demanding total accountability for every shilling that has gone to the counties. Murang’a County is not any unusual and more than Kshs15 billion has been devolved there in the past three years. What has happened to that money? Mr. Speaker, Sir, only a few weeks or months after the debacle, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), to which these matters were to be referred, again, did its own survey. I am sure not everybody was surprised. I was not surprised although I was extremely embarrassed and ashamed of myself that my county followed by Embu 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"
}