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{
    "id": 722261,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/722261/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 244,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it should not be lost on us how we got ourselves into this system of Government; the devolution era where after many years, almost 50 years, of centralization, managing all our resources centrally, it was the general wisdom and agreed vision of almost everybody in the entire country that we should move away from the centre and give counties or devolved units a certain percentage of resources that we collect nationally so that can chart their destiny. It was also agreed that upon the passage and promulgation of this Constitution that we shall elect men and women into office; people that we deem to be men and women of good character and vision to lead these counties in the positions of either Senators or governors, but it was generally agreed that the greatest responsibility of implementation or the use of these funds shall be left in the hands of the governors. I would like to briefly refer you to Article 203 of our Constitution. These are some of the fundamental principles that are supposed to guide us as we discuss the issue of equitable share and distribution of the finances that we collect as a country. Have we lived up to the expectations of the drafters of our Constitution? Have we been good legislators? We are the ones who pass laws and determine the amount of monies that go to these county governments. What are some of the things that we keep on considering? We should perhaps take keen interest in Sub-Article (d) that one of the things that we need to consider as we legislate is the need to ensure that county governments perform the functions that are allocated to them. We are aware. There is no contest or doubt anywhere as to the functions that counties are supposed to execute. The question, therefore, that follows is; are we properly funding our counties? Furthermore, after we have sent and distributed the national resources to the counties, do we ensure that the people who are charged with the distribution of these resources at the county level, the governor and his executive team that come up with the county budget and the MCAs adopt and pass that fiscal document? Are we ensuring that each and every sector of the responsibilities and obligations that are left to the counties are properly funded? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we do not live up to some of these aspirations. I will give a perfect example. We were earlier on given a list of counties that have done so well in their revenue collection. Mr. Temporary Speaker Sir, one of the things that they adopted is the use of technology in collection of revenue. It leaves one with so many questions as to why in the 21st Centenary when everybody knows that while there is leakage of revenue in all levels of government, use of technology is one of the ways to inhibit loss of revenue. Why do certain county governments still insist on manual collection of revenue? I would like to congratulate the counties that have gone 100 per cent technology based revenue collection. There is no doubt that there has been an increase in revenue collection in counties that have done that. There are certain counties where people want to forge receipts and carry fake receipts that until to date have not adopted the system. That is why our counties still continue to struggle. We question whether it is just a general fear of technology and how the technological equipment operates that certain county governments have stayed away from the use of technology in almost every department. 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"
}