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{
    "id": 733114,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/733114/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 226,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. S.S. Ahmed",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "on the oversight Committee. The oversight Committee tried to look at the issues that the TA was not able to finalise. Hon. Deputy Speaker, devolution is based on the basic pillars of development of this country – health, education, among others. However, it looks like the transition from the former local authorities to the current county governments was not well implemented. I was the mayor of Kisumu City, and a number of us in this House would be in a mess. The control mechanisms and accounting systems that had been developed for many years, including the period before 1963, made the local governments to work well. However, the architects of devolution just threw the baby with the bath water. Governments were bringing in fresh people who had no idea about control mechanisms or the services required of them and the requisite infrastructure. As a result, we ended up overstaffing. We had staff that was inherited from the local authorities plus those who had been engaged on contract. I have looked at the report of the oversight committee, but I do not see it expressing concern about this great lacuna. In my view, implementation is the problem. The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) can oversee the implementation of devolution, but it cannot catalyze the implementation. So, the CIOC is handicapped in the sense that it only oversees implementation, whether it is good or bad. It cannot, however, even by its own mandate, catalyze implementation which is required, say, by the Constitution, or the normal practices that are essential for the proper running of the county governments. As such, we have a body that is carrying out the function of oversight, but without direction. The CIOC also finds itself in a very difficult position. Remember we had in place a committee that was dealing with transition issues. As much as the CIOC has tried very hard to come up with this Report, and I commend it for the good work done, Parliament needs to give it more teeth. As it is now, the CIOC can only bark. It is not even a watchdog; it is an oversight committee. I think that is where the problem lies. I am a member of the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade and I want to humbly object to the comment that was made by my colleague that the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade is overburdened. My Chairman is not here but we are very proud as members of that Committee to have worked hard. We are not behind in our schedule of work. Our work is up to date. We have a large mandate and we have worked pretty hard. We have had no problems of integrity but we have had very small problems with regard to attendance. So, I beg to differ with my colleague. We need to know that devolution covers not only the aspect of finance, but also issues that affect other committees of this House. Hon. Deputy Speaker, with those few remarks I support. We could have done better, but still we have done well. Thank you very much."
}