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{
    "id": 799040,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/799040/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 265,
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    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, delay by fund administrators to submit expenditure reports of the MCAs Car Loan Fund and the County Bursary Fund contrary to Section 168 of the PFM Act is a very serious offence. What is the use of the county assembly if they cannot provide that report? We keep on giving them money when they have not satisfied the initial position. Finally, on this report for Isiolo County, there is the issue of failure to constitute the County Economic Forum in line with Section 137 of the PFM Act for consultation in the budget making process. We are saying here we are implementing the Constitution and public participation is very important. If the county does not have such a body in place and we are sitting here approving the budget for them, are we not agreeing with their wrongs? It is a question we, as a Senate, need to ask ourselves. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Bill provides for rehabilitation of youth polytechnics. They are in a pathetic condition. We always buy equipment. There is budgetary allocation for that. We do not even evaluate what is already there. We just pump in money. Our youth are just into drugs and alcohol. If those polytechnics operate properly, there will be self-employment. Unfortunately, we just keep allocating money to those counties. As the Senate, let us put our act together to ensure that counties are held accountable. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, another issue is allocation for road maintenance. Before the rains came, we were praying for the rains so that we do not have drought but now that the rains have come, we have another disaster. The roads now have pot holes and bridges have been swept away. There is a lot of insecurity in some other areas where if you slow down you will be attacked by bandits yet we are sitting here as the Senate allocating money but we do not have mechanisms to make sure that the money allocated for road maintenance is well utilised. There is also confusion where the national Government is sending money for road maintenance and the county Government is doing the same. We really need to do something about it because we do not know which roads are done by whom. So, the situation on the ground is really wanting. We need to be very serious as a Senate, follow up the proper utilisation of the money allocated to the counties and hold those who do not comply with the Government and legal requirements for financial management responsible. Some counties will actually budget for revenue collection at a certain percentage but at the end of that financial year, whatever they have proposed in their budget is not there. They just wait for the national Government allocation. How can the Senate make sure that counties are pushed to make sure that they have collected enough revenue to complement the national Government allocation? Also, we have been told in most of the Auditor-General’s reports that the money collected at the county level is utilised at source. Who will make sure that does not happen? I believe that if the audit report for the Financial Year 2017/2018 will come out, it will automatically show that some counties are still doing it. There are some counties that get zero per cent. They do not even get anything. What do we do to those counties? Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves. Supplementary budgets in most of the counties are misused under emergency response. We have the report from the Auditor-General where he points out that when 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"
}