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{
    "id": 645967,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/645967/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 127,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the privilege to contribute to this very important Motion. I will make very brief remarks for two reasons. First, we are pressed for time and, secondly, we have had occasion to comment on this issue before. I would not want to repeat myself. First and foremost, I commend the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget for considering the recommendations of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), which is the constitutional body charged with making recommendations to this House on how money allocated to counties will be shared horizontally among the counties. I have noted that the major change in the revised formula is the one per cent increase on the equitable share of revenue. Other than that, there is one per cent that the CRA has allocated to the development index, which means that the less the county is developed in terms of services and infrastructure, the more it gets in terms of affirmative action or correctional measures, to make sure that it catches up with the rest of the counties in our country. That is the major change that I have seen. Other than that, all the other factors basically remain the same, including the size, population and fiscal discipline of the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I consider this to be one of the most important exercises that this House does every year. So far the formula that has been used has been fairly equitable. This will go a long way in reducing the gap between highly developed counties and less developed counties. With the new parameter of development index, which is at one per cent of the revenue, the gap between the rich and poor counties will reduce even further. I have also noted that over the years the amount available to less populated counties and historically marginalized counties, like Tharaka-Nithi County, has gone up, and that is commendable. In future I would like to see a greater percentage being attached to the level of development in each of our counties. This is because devolution serves one major purpose, which is to equalize our country and make sure that we exorcise the ghosts of Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965. The problems that Kenya is facing today – I dare to argue – are associated with the thrust of Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965, which simply said: “Concentrate on the agriculturally productive parts of Kenya, ignore the rest of arid and semi-arid areas and Kenya will be a great country.” As a result, most of our infrastructure and developmental institutions have concentrated on a small part of our country, which is actually less than a third of the country, leaving two-thirds of our nation unattended. This has led to serious tensions in our country, with some parts feeling as if they are not part of Kenya. This is what devolution has come to address. This is what this formula is enhancing in terms of reducing the gaps of inequity that centralized administration and governance structure cannot address. For the first time we are seeing counties that never had bitumen roads building some. We are also seeing counties that never had certain health and water facilities establishing those services. So, this formula is not just a mathematical phenomenon; it is an expression of the paradigm shift that we have achieved under the Constitution (2010), 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"
}