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{
    "id": 646030,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/646030/?format=api",
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    "content": "– the 45 per cent to be shared by 47 counties – therefore, this is a very serious parameter of looking into this. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as far as I am concerned, this issue of population was arrived at in a census. I do not know when this census was conducted. However, I believe that it was conducted in 2009. Other censuses have been done. We need to be told for sure, the exact population of our country. We should also be informed about the population trends. It should not be the total number of people per se in a county. We have been informed by other speakers that we have some people at the border; they can migrate to other territories in times of peace or rain. Some people share boundaries. They migrate to look for pastures, as we have seen the Maasais of Kenya and Tanzania do. In Busia, we have seen how people can move across the border. Similarly, it happens in Mount Elgon and northern Kenya. We should be told when this census was conducted. Was it conducted when people were moving towards Kenya or away to the other areas? That will give us absolute total figures. These figures can be misleading. It is also important to know that the population is a migratory factor. It is a factor of production that is mobile. This means mobility of labour. When we consider 45 per cent as an important factor in the distribution and sharing of revenue, we should know exactly the characteristics of this population; when it was conducted, how it was obtained and the total population. We might be talking of a population that was collected wrongly or falsely. By bad luck, people who migrated from other areas to the present census stations when they were required for purposes of revenue collection. Therefore, when we put 45 per cent as a definite per cent and leave other factors like development factors, we must reconsider. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, since we are almost coming to the end of our five year term, some of us will be governors. It is important to come up with some other deadlines on how to get these figures redone. In 2002 and 2003 when we were Members of the Tenth Parliament, there were figures which were collected which showed how the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) money should be allocated. Those who were responsible crafted the figures to show that some areas were poor yet they were rich. When it came to the distribution of CDF, the areas which were said to be poor - going by the figures which were released - continue to date getting allocations based on that. They knew the possible outcome of such manipulated figures. Here, we are dealing with a factor which keeps on changing. When it changes, we should also change the allocation. That is what should happen. Suppose we go to look for these people and see whether they are still there and if they are getting the 45 per cent of the sharable revenue, do you think we can find that population there? Some of them might have moved to other places. What happens to the difference? That is what is being pocketed by the governors in those areas. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should not blame the governors for doing so because they are in a place where there is so much money that they have no use for. That is why they purchase helicopters and fly from one market centre to the other. This is happening because of the availability of money. There are some areas where the factors of production are adequate. There is land for utilisation. In those areas, people work hard to make ends meet. They earn money 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"
}