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{
    "id": 781598,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/781598/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 115,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Waweru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1378,
        "legal_name": "Dennis Kariuki Waweru",
        "slug": "dennis-kariuki-waweru"
    },
    "content": "trained on how their resources are being used by these two governments, which is the national Government and also the county governments. As such, I would want to raise my little concern by first saying that with great power comes great responsibility. I say this noting that since the onset of devolution, which is now six years old, we are able to go on the ground and track the impact. I want to say this without any fear of contradiction that when you look at funds that are devolved through Members of Parliament, that is, the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), you are able to pinpoint projects that have been put up using those funds. However, if you go to our constituencies you will have a problem pinpointing what it is that has been put up using funds that we are channelling through these country governments. In fact, it leaves us as Members of Parliament in a very precarious situation because as we are doing our work very well. People will expect us to be working beyond our mandate. We will have questions that will be raised on projects that should have been undertaken by county governments. Our people will ask us why it is that we are not attending to matters of health, roads and other issues that go beyond the mandate of NG-CDF. Even as we pass this Bill, it gives us an opportunity, as a House to start having conversation as has been shown by our principals, His Excellency the President and also the leader of opposition, the Right Honourable Raila Odinga, as we talk about a national dialogue to also unpack this Constitution that we passed. We should have a conversation around the 20 per cent that we said was not quite good when we were passing it and said we shall revisit. I think this is the time to revisit because I see us putting in some money that will go to some roads. I see us putting some money that will go to health and youth development in this schedule in the Division of Revenue Bill 2018. There is a discussion which I will call the elephant in the room about some of the functions that we devolved. It is time that we reopen this discussion and ask ourselves as a country whether it was good wisdom for us to be devolving, for example, matters of heath, seeing the issues that are coming up with the strikes by the nurses and the doctors and the inability of our health facilities to take care of the health of our nation. I will not take more time other than to say that I would want to go on record that it is commendable that this Budget and Appropriations Committee was able to bring this Bill ahead of time. I hope that we will have a smoother implementation of the same. We are not expecting many problems from what I would want to call the lower house or the Senate as we implement what it is that we have here on the Division of Revenue Bill 2018. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker."
}