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{
    "id": 666368,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/666368/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 105,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "here is Kshs1.5 trillion. About 45 per cent of this money is from Income Tax or Pay As You Earn (PAYE), 45 per cent is from Value Added Tax (VAT) and the rest is from Customs Duty, Ministries and so on. We are yet to generate revenue from natural resources like oil. We are still prospecting. Apart from the money we are going to borrow from outside, which is in the tune of Kshs 0.6 or Kshs0.7 trillion, the rest is raised by Kenyans through hard work. They include the old mamas who sell vegetables and such like stuff. When they go to buy household commodities, they pay VAT. It is important that this House becomes concerned on how the money is utilised when it goes down to the counties. I agree with the Leader of the Majority Party on the issue of whether the money that has gone to the counties for the last three years has changed the lives of our people. He was talking about Garissa County where he comes from. A small county like Vihiga received Kshs9.6 billion during the current financial year. It will get Kshs4.1 billion in the next financial year. It is very shocking that the money has been wasted through some corrupt deals. In fact, I am happy that we have started debating the Roads Bill. The County Allocation of Revenue Bill has an element of conditional grants that are going to be used in the counties for maintenance of roads. I hope that the Bill being debated from yesterday is going to help us to sort out some of the problems that we have experienced in the counties, particularly the issue of roads. I said here that we had some county governments which took the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) to court because they wanted to be allowed to do roads yet they have done nothing about the functions that they have been given, including water, agriculture and health services. Regarding the health function, it looks like Vihiga County does not want to perform it. It is because of regulations which are there set by the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA). When it comes to awarding road contracts, they will just call people and tell them to do the roads and then they pay exorbitantly. I hope the Bill we are debating is going to help us, particularly now that the money is being allocated for the conditional grants for road maintenance. Performance of county assemblies roles has been a problem. This is because the County Assemblies completely forgot their role. They thought they are supposed to be working in the Office of the Governor. They do not know that they are supposed to do what we are doing here over this money – oversight. There should be a way to contain this. I hope agencies like the Controller of Budget should give accurate reports on what is going on. We should also strengthen the work that is being done by the Auditor-General because he has done many reports. I do not think he understands how much money we are sending to the counties. They need to address this matter very seriously. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has some glaring issues. They cannot apprehend. I do not know whether it is because of being compromised or lack of enough capacity. They have regional offices and they do not have to apprehend everybody. You need to prosecute some so that they can serve as an example to the others. If you look at the Kshs1.5 trillion I talked about, excluding the loans we are getting from outside and the Kshs300 billion that is going to the counties, you will find that we are talking about 20 per cent. It is expected that we have a way of checking or getting feedback to see whether we are getting value for our money or not. Otherwise, it will not be serving the purpose which the Constitution contemplated. With those few remarks, I support."
}