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{
    "id": 781563,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/781563/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 80,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. A.B. Duale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "Chairlady of PAC, Hon. Jessica. I am sure we can burn the midnight oil and provide the most recent audited resources which have been approved by this House. This Bill allocates the county governments an equitable share of Kshs314 billion for the Financial Year 2018/2019. If you compare this with the Financial Year 2017/2018, it reflects an increase of 4 per cent. So, the amount of money given to the county governments increases every year. It has increased by 4 per cent from last year. It means the allocation is twice what the Constitution anticipates. But what are we using? We are using the audited revenue of Kshs935 billion for the Financial Year 2013/2014. If we had audited accounts for the Financial Year 2017/2018, we could be talking of Kshs1.2 trillion which will enable us to give more to the county governments. There is an institution called the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council chaired by the Deputy President. In our opinion, they sit with the Commission on Revenue Allocation, the Senate, the National Treasury and all stakeholders. This time, the CoG is in agreement. We are putting this Commission on Revenue Allocation on notice. Its membership was vetted and passed by this House. Once they leave the IBEC, they give the Senate’s Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget different figures. I hope the chairperson and commissioners of the CRA are watching. You cannot play games. They agree at the IBEC where the CoG is represented, the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly, the Finance Committee of the Senate, the Executive, the National Treasury and all the stakeholders are represented, but when they come before the Senate, they give them a different figure. They are public officers who are vetted. They should either agree at the IBEC or disagree. That is why the two Houses will always have a problem in as far as the Division of Revenue Bill is concerned. I also want to speak to the Senate. We want to support them this financial year in giving them some resources to make sure they audit the county governments. This year, I want to really ask them not to take us the route of mediation. If you take us that route, there are consequences. Yes! Do not take us the route of mediation. We are magnanimous. We want county governments to be audited. We want Senators to go to every county and see whether this money is there. Out of that magnanimity, we want to give them some resources in this year’s Budget. But if they take us through the process of mediation, they have a price to pay. We also renegade on our promise. As Hon. Mbadi said yesterday, time for blackmail is over in this country. We either agree or move apart. Blackmail and intimidation are over. We got over that when the two leaders shook hands. So, the Senate, let us agree on the Division of Revenue Bill. It is Hon. Mbadi who said that Kenya is now new; the culture of unity and cohesiveness. Article 202(2) of the Constitution provides for additional allocation to county governments. I want to talk about the money allocated to Level 5 hospitals which is Kshs4.3 billion. The problem we are facing at the Kenyatta National Hospital is because county hospitals are not working. The KNH and MTRH are meant for specialised treatment. If a guy gets injured during a demonstration and he is bleeding, he rushes to KNH. We want to ask our governors to equip county hospitals. We have Mbagathi and Mama Lucy hospitals. Even for simple stitches, people go to KNH. The casualty is full. In any country where you have a referral hospital of KNH status, and medical doctors in this House will agree with me, it is only used for specialised treatment. But now, even for a small thing that can be done at a dispensary, you are rushed to KNH. Then you see the kind of confusion in that hospital. The KNH should not have a maternity wing. Caesarean operations can be done in county hospitals. Every year, the national Government gives specific resources of Kshs4.5 billion to Level 5 hospitals. I really want to ask The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}