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{
    "id": 787937,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/787937/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 582,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Member of the Twelfth Parliament and that I sat in the Senate and we passed this monies year in, year out, but there was nothing to show for it on the ground? I feel embarrassed and discouraged. A question that will continue bothering our minds as we pass this Bill is not getting timely reports of how the resources that are being devolved to counties are spend. How long are we going to continue with this practice? Is year 2021 the time when we shall be scrutinizing audited accounts of the Financial Year 2016/2017? This would mean that there shall be two sets of governors who will have exited office without appearing before CPAIC. Timely audit is a big question that we need to address before considering other things. I want also to talk about the issue of conditional grants. As a good citizen and young as I am, I wonder where the people who formulate programmes for Kenyans - which schools they attended. When we pass the Divisions of Revenue Bill, we always allocate a colossal amount of money to be used for paying for the leased medical equipment. Senators had reservations about it and it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. We spoke and asked very serious questions on the Floor of this House and even out there in public places. I know, for example, in a county like Kericho County that I represent, part of the equipment they got included Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds. Two years down the line, those beds are still not operational because we are told that specialised nurses and doctors have been sent for training and have never come back. How could you procure equipment without first questioning who will operate it? This is the story across many referral hospitals in our counties. I challenge Senators to visit these counties and see for themselves what is obtaining on the ground. We continue to pay it while passing the same cost to Kenyans yet no benefit is being derived from this equipment. It is a sin. Those of us who are Christians believe that this is not right and we must speak against some of these things. Even as we continue to pass and send monies to support this particular programme, we need to question those who are in authority or managing these programmes. As we send conditional allocations, we request them to streamline their operations. I have seen a figure of Kshs2 billion that has been set aside for youth polytechnics. I am a passionate supporter and defender of youth empowerment programmes. They are the biggest constituents who vote for me in each and every election. However, I must be on record that this particular programme is not well thought out. I know for a fact that, with the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), if most of our constituencies do not have a Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), they already have a youth polytechnic that is being built. Why are we sending additional funds for rehabilitation? This is like giving a blank cheque to governors who want to pilfer public resources. They will put a fresh coat of paint in old retired youth polytechnic buildings and say that they were told to use that amount of money for rehabilitation. A well thought out programme would have been to question how much in terms of equipment do the existing youth polytechnics have. We should have one youth polytechnic per constituency, as it is in the present case, to serve the entire youth population of that particular constituency. This programme should establish the training 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."
}