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{
    "id": 743078,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/743078/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 181,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "without any resources. At the moment, we cannot feed our people and it is a shame that we have to import food from other countries. This is the time that we should be allocating more resources to our agricultural sector. It is the only sector that is employing the majority of our people in the rural areas and even those in the urban centres depend on agro-industry in terms of manufacturing. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this amount proposed by the National Assembly is not going to solve agriculture problems. I also note in Table 1 of the Bill, the allocations for Strategic Grain Reserves or Strategic Reserves have been reduced from Kshs2.2 billion the previous year to Kshs1.2 billion. They seem to be reducing allocations to agriculture and yet the National Assembly is the one summoning the Cabinet Ministers all the time asking them why we do not have enough grain, yet it is the National Assembly which allocates. It is high time the national Budget was scrutinized by the Senate in a way of changing the Constitution and making this “Upper House” check on the excesses of the National Assembly. The political leadership has also not been serious on this matter. We know that when they mean to whip their Members to support a certain cause they can do it. It was only recently when we debated about the amendments of election laws. We were influenced to vote in a certain manner without changing even a comma and the two sides agreed. However, in the National Assembly the two sides cannot agree to agree to ensure that counties get adequate resources and yet all of them in the public forums state that they support devolution and Wanjiku. The budget proposed by the National Assembly is not Wanjiku-friendly. The Members of the National Assembly are behaving as if they do not come from the counties but represent some constituencies called the national Government. I wish the voters could get to know which Member supported this Bill in a way that reduces allocations to the counties so that they could vote them out. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the figures that the Senate went by, we were not just creating figures to spite the National Assembly or to prove to them that we are the Upper House. We are the “Upper House” and we do not need to prove that. What we were acting upon was a recommendation from a professional body that is recognised in the Constitution called the Commission for Revenue Allocation (CRA). They recommended the figure which this Senate agreed to. However, what we are seeing is that this Commission is being rendered powerless because whatever they recommend is not being upheld. With those few remarks, I want to say that we are ready to go for a final mediation and not holding on to what we had previously proposed."
}