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{
    "id": 787892,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/787892/?format=api",
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    "content": "National Assembly Majority Leader on this– and he is very supportive. I even heard his comments on the Floor of the National Assembly – although he added some derogatory terms here and there – he was very supportive on the resources going to counties. The Chairperson of the Committee on Budget and Appropriations, Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah, was very supportive of the resources going to counties. I believe that the National Assembly Minority Leader, whom I am going to talk to shortly, is also supportive of those resources going to the counties. Madam Temporary Speaker, people must realise that these resources in counties are nothing compared to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and that they require someone to do oversight. If the allocation for the NG- CDF in Elgeyo-Marakwet County is Kshs400 million, the devolved resources is 10 times more, which is Kshs4 billion. If we are going to become innovative enough to carry out that oversight, we must get the resources to enable a Senator to hire an auditor, organise meetings in counties to see exactly which projects are said to be funded using the development funds there. These resources are also to facilitate Senators to have officers on the ground to enable them get the necessary information to ensure that this message is getting to our counties. Madam Temporary Speaker, I am saying this with great humility because I know that most governors who are serving a second term are eying to be Senators. Sen. Faki, you must stand by because you might need to change tune to become the Governor for Mombasa County. This is because I suspect that the next place your Governor will try to go to, is here in the Senate. The same applies to your Governor, Madam Chairperson, although I am not supposed to say this. The same applies to the Governors for Kisii and Kakamega counties. There can only be one President and for all these governors, the next office that they want to come to is the Senate. Forget about the stories people tell you about the Senate not being prestigious or a good place. The next position that all those men and women at the county level are targeting – forget about the Presidency – is this House. That is why we must make sure that this House is having the necessary resources so that when other leaders come – even when it is not ourselves – they will be able to carry out that oversight responsibly. Therefore, Madam Temporary Speaker, all those governors who are thinking and saying that there will be a vendetta with Senators, no; we are not discussing Sen. Murkomen or Sen. Sakaja as individuals. We are discussing the Senate as an entity and as an institution that will outlive those who are sitting here today. Those who will come from the “Lower” House to this House – and as we have seen in this term where we have more than five of them – you will find a House that is functioning and able to deliver on the responsibility as provided for in Article 96 of the Constitution. Therefore, I continue to urge my colleagues and friends in the National Assembly – Hon. Duale, Hon. Ichung’wah and the team that is responsible for budgeting – to ensure that those resources that have been set aside for oversight by the Senate are quickly approved. These resources will enable us to carry out this very onerous task of ensuring that our counties are accountable. If we do not do that, we will be the ultimate losers, as the people of Kenya. Madam Temporary Speaker, the resources going to counties are not just the Kshs314 billion; we have more resources going there. You will remember that there is a The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}