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{
    "id": 646096,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/646096/?format=api",
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    "content": "constitutional requirements. Article 203 of the Constitution lists the criteria which must be met. While some criteria have been given weight, sometimes undue weight, other criteria have been neglected. Article 203(1)(d) of the Constitution requires that the counties must be supported to perform their functions, in this case, the devolved functions. Therefore, when we are allocating resources, we should look at those functions which have been devolved. What comes to my mind quickly is agriculture, health and infrastructure. How has these criteria addressed those issues? Article 203(1)(i) states:- “the need for economic optimisation of each county and to provide incentives for each county to optimise its capacity to raise revenue;” This means that when we are allocating funds to each county, we should also allocate not just to alleviate poverty and so forth but also to enable those counties to produce more revenue that will be subject to allocation at a later stage. That means that those who generate more need to be given something in appreciation, not as a reward but to enable them raise more revenue for the country. I do not know whether that has been taken care of. We have discussed this issue here, even last year. We hoped they would change. We had even indicated that each county’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) be used so that if, I am giving more in terms of GDP, then I am given something commensurate to my effort. We can call it fiscal responsibility. Fiscal responsibility does not mean fiscal discipline. There is fiscal discipline where you have used resources correctly but fiscal responsibility means how much you are putting in the basket. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when we discussed this matter with the CRA, they said that it was not possible that there were no figures to indicate how each county is contributing. However, the CRA has been quick to arrive at figures to state which counties are poorer than the others; the poverty index. If you can arrive at the poverty index, what is so difficult? We have an institution, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) which CRA could have mandated to do that for them. Unless, we do that, we shall just be distributing money and creating more poverty. There are countries such as Germany, where I had an opportunity to go to look at their taxation system and their Constitution. It provides that a certain amount or percentage of revenue that is raised in each Region must remain in it whether you use the pay as you earn, income tax and so forth. There are many ways of arriving at that. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, a lot of weight has been given to land area, poverty and population in this formula. It is obvious that when you talk about land area in this country, large counties happen to be also poor. So when you are rewarding poverty and land area, you benefit that county twice; not to mention that in the Constitution, there is also an Equalization Fund which is supposed to address that inequality. So, that county of large land area benefits thrice. When we talk about functions, agriculture, for instance, Trans-Nzoia County feeds this nation. We produce a third of the maize that is produced in this country yet my county has that responsibility but that effort has not been recognised. The maize we produce is not only for Trans-Nzoia County, it is for the whole country. We save foreign exchange; otherwise, we could have imported that food. However the farmers in Trans- 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"
}