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    "id": 768587,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/768587/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 72,
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    "content": "dropped by 7.1 per cent. This is a very worrying trend. Since the inception of devolution, it is important to understand first that these are not figures that the office of the Controller of Budget just picks out of the moon, places before county governments and says, “Your revenue collection or target for Financial Year (FY) xyz is this amount. This is statistical data that people sit and work out figures and check from history of what the former municipal and county councils used to raise. The same is calculated and prorated in terms of progression of years. Up to date, we have never been able to reach even 60 per cent - that is the national figure - of what previous municipalities used to collect. This is a worrying trend because it reveals that this is one of the avenues through which taxpayers lose their money. It is something that, as Senators we need to keep at the back of our minds and find out ways in which we can encourage and put in place measures to stop people that are pilfering public resources and using the same to enrich themselves. Mr. Speaker, Sir, 57 per cent for financial year 2015/2016 was a dismal performance. However, in the report we have before us for FY2016/2017 the same has gone down by a gaping seven per cent. This tells you that it will not be a shocker if at the end of this FY2017/2018 we are told that perhaps maybe counties nationally met only 40 per cent of this figure. It is something we need to question as Senate and find ways of addressing because that is primarily why we have this House. Article 96 of our Constitution is quite clear that we are the first protectors of counties and their interests. There is no greater interest for counties other than to ensure that the resources that are being devolved are being put to proper use. The main intent of devolution that we need not lose sight of is to better and improve on the livelihoods of the common mwananchi, the people that vote for us to come to this House. If we can see that there is clear indication that funds are being lost and we are not addressing the same, then we are losing sight of why we exist as a House. It is something worth also noting when you read through this report- and this is something that I had noticed informally---. Just when we were looking through how devolution either was a success or a failure in the various counties, it was worth noting that some counties took their own allocation and invested in hat were then known as “grand projects”. Everybody who is a Member here understands that grand projects in the scheme of county governments have become synonymous with grand schemes of losing public resources. Mr. Speaker, Sir, It is worth noting and the same has been captured in this report. Some county governments instead of budgeting in such a way that there is little budget to fund projects that are reaching out to almost every corner of the county, instead concentrate on big projects like building of new level 5 hospitals or the new fad which is building state of the art stadia or resort cities. As we have seen in certain counties, the same county governments, almost without fail, those governors did not make it back. That might not be primarily the main reason all of them were not voted back into office. If you read through page 113 of the same Report and check through the recommendation, one of the recommendations is that there are projects that give meaning The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}