HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 768655,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/768655/?format=api",
"text_counter": 140,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "wholly but to a certain extent – that members of the public are actually keen to sit, wait and see that they have Governors who are able to implement development. In the same vein, Madam Temporary Speaker, if you look at the percentages with regard to absorption capacity, you will realise that there are a lot of resources that are used for the recurrent expenditure against expectations of having a higher absorption for the development expenditure. This is obviously because of issues to do with procurement and other delays that are well articulated by this report. This is quite telling because overall, the non-absorption of funds to the counties – that is about 35 per cent that you see in the report – is largely attributed to development expenditure not being well utilised. There is, therefore, the need to ensure that county governments are, indeed, able to take up the monies that are allocated to them for purposes of development. Madam Temporary Speaker, a curious point that comes out clearly is that just like the national Government, county governments are starting to live way beyond their means. I remember when we had the induction retreat for Senators in Naivasha, I did pose a question to the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in charge of the national Treasury, Hon. Henry Rotich, about pending bills. According to him and even other agencies that were represented, county governments are not supposed to have pending bills because they are supposed to expend that which is allocated to them. However, you can clearly see from this report that there are many pending bills and counties have challenges of borrowing, if I am not wrong, up to Kshs 35 billion. Therefore, there is a challenge in terms of counties spending monies that they do not have. Interestingly, if you go to, for example, Kiambu County, you will find that the over expenditure within that county is not even on development, which may be understandable, of course, because of the delivery of goods and if you like services, but also recurrent expenditure. The 41 per cent of these monies generally are going to personal emoluments. What does that mean? Does it actually occasion the fact that counties have become employment bureaus, where people are employing individuals who are not well factored in the various staff establishments or departments and agencies under the county governments? I think it seems to suggest the answer. Is it because of spending monies on per diems and other personal entitlements like allowances for the staff of the counties? So, this is a matter that needs to be looked out for very clearly. When you look at this report, you can also see that there is a lot of non- compliance to the already existing laws such that, for example, you will find that counties have been able to spend over and above the approved budgets or the withdrawals that the Office of the Controller of Budget has got mandate over. So, the Public Finance Management Act is not being adhered to. If you look at even the ceilings around the development and the recurrent expenditure are not being properly followed. This raises a pertinent question that keeps on recurring in our debates; whether we want to have some form of legislation either by having general guiding legislation at the National Parliament, and in this regard, the Senate; or maybe within the individual county assemblies, where you may want to dictate the ceilings upon which the county assemblies can approve expenditure or can pass budgets. Clearly from this report, it is quite telling that county governments are having an open hand in terms of how they allocate resources with regard to the priorities of The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}