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{
    "id": 800722,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/800722/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 282,
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    "content": "slowly clawing back the functions of County Governments under the Fourth Schedule. What is more saddening is that there is no framework. As we pass some of the conditional grants, two things must bear and must be noted. First, we Senators are not aware of the conditions for the grants. Once the grants are given, we do not know the implementation mechanism. Secondly, we have no method of checking whether counties are complying with the conditional grants. Therefore in the Report we have tabled today, we have recommended to the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) to come up, not later than end of this year, with a framework and a policy document to show how the conditional grants will find their way before we do the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) and division of revenue, so that Senators seated in this House can interrogate some of the issues. A total of Kshs40 million will go to Wote Town for the Kenya Urban Support Programme but I have no idea as the Senator for Makueni what that money is supposed to do. Is it supposed to do street lighting, drainage, construction of sewer or provision of piped water? We cannot even ask the necessary questions. Similarly, we have grants for medical equipment which are also conditional grants. Members of the Committee on Finance and Budget, having noted that this can be the next NYS scandal, we have recommended that an audit be done because we do not understand why conditional grants can increase from Kshs4.5 billion to Kshs6.1 billion without any amendment and then to Kshs9.4 billion in this financial year without any paperwork and explanation. This is a scandal in the making. Therefore, as we approve some of the conditional grants, the Committee on Finance and Budget has made very drastic recommendations, including the interrogation and submission of all contract documents between the national Government and suppliers of the leasing of medical equipment. A few minutes ago, I tabled a statement on Makueni. We do not know who is supposed to repair the equipment and the contract is not with us or the county. We also want to see the memorandum of understanding between the national Government and the Council of Governors (CoG). In order to stop conditional grants being signed throughout the year, we recommend that a policy framework be developed by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) to ensure that signing of conditional grants complies with the budget cycle. We want to avoid a situation where the National Treasury walks to us in the middle of a budget cycle and demands that we amend the Division of Revenue Act or the County Allocation of Revenue Act (CARA). We have also recommended and Senators ought to look at this, that the Second Policy on Equalisation Fund be tabled as quickly as possible because the Equalization Fund Appropriation Act signed by His Excellency the President a month ago will lapse on 30th June yet projects that were supposed to be implemented in the First Policy have not been implemented and the ones that are supposed to implemented in the Second Policy have not been identified. We have attached a schedule of counties that will benefit from the three grants. Other than Nairobi and Mombasa counties that are excluded from the Kenya Urban Support Programme, the rest of the 45 counties will receive funds for that programme. 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."
}