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{
    "id": 701476,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/701476/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 318,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "As it has been said, one of the key functions had to do with agriculture. This is an important component of our counties, among the many other functions that were recommended to be transferred. The other recommendation that we made is that resources have to follow the functions. We have continued to raise this issue in the Senate; that it is not important to just transfer the functions; the counties need to have resources so as to implement some of these functions that are fully devolved. We also realised that on many of the functions, we had met the requirement, as the Senate. They were transferred before March this year and were fully operational in our counties. The reason these functions were transferred, according to the spirit of our Constitution, was for services to be closer to the people. It is not in order to devolve these functions to the counties and yet, the people of those counties are not receiving the services. Services are meant to be closer to the people. In your contribution you said that our counties are sometimes obsessed with big tenders and cases where money is involved. Some of the counties just build rooms with no proper services and call them dispensaries. The same case applies in Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) where some counties just put up small structures and call them ECDE classrooms. Interestingly, some counties use so many resources to open those small structures, more than even the amount of money that was used to build them. We actually need three classrooms for our ECDE, but some counties build just one classroom in the middle of nowhere, without doing a survey as to whether children can access it. They then hire a convoy of 50 vehicles, using county resources, to open that one classroom. It does not make sense to say that we have transferred the function and build ECDE centres when we do not know whether or not they are functional. Now that we have leaders who come from those counties and want the best for their children, those ECDE classrooms should look like kindergartens in the cities. It is leaders from those particular counties who are in charge of the future of their children. The whole aspect of Early Childhood Development (ECD) is the function of the county, and most of those are some of the resources that have gone to the county. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, agriculture and water resources functions have also gone to the county. I hope we will discuss that in this House, since we are already seeing a looming drought in our counties. We know a lot of issues to do with food security have been devolved to the counties. There is an issue that one of our colleagues mentioned and said that we are just trying. It is the first thing. There is also another notion that has been in our counties as we go into the campaign time where they say: “Please stop asking us about the 15 per cent”. They are even lying to the public that this Senate has only devolved 15 per cent of the monies that should go to the counties while it is over 40 per cent. They always tell us to go and ask where the other percentage is. As much as it is important to account for the money that is still being held by the national Government, it is important for the residents of the counties to know that the sole mandate of this House is to oversight the resources that go down to the counties. As we devolve these functions we will also be devolving the resources which will follow those functions. Our counties have to be accountable to the people so that it is not just transferring, but to ensure that the services which are supposed to reach the people happen in our counties. 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"
}