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{
    "id": 800740,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/800740/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 300,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We have been struggling to increase the equitable share of the county revenue. From the last Senate, it has now marginally gone up to Kshs376 billion. When you add that to the conditional grant increase in this Bill, considering that the last Division of Revenue Bill that was presented before this House was Kshs372 billion, we see a new figure of Kshs376,481,384,140. That is a nominal increase of 40.2 per cent. I am referring to it as nominal or relative because the Bill is based on the audited accounts of 2013/2014 Financial Year whose total revenue collection at that time was slightly under Kshs1 trillion. If I heard correctly from the Mover of this Motion, he indicated that when the National Treasury presents this budget before the two houses of Parliament, the total revenue receipt in the budget cycle is expected to rise to over Ksh3 trillion. If we talk of equitable county share based on that overarching budget, then we will be talking of something substantial for the counties rising up to respectable levels. Nevertheless, we have to deal with what we have at the moment until the National Assembly pulls up its own activities in audit by updating and approving the audited accounts of at least, latest, 2016/2017 Financial Year. We need to play a hard diplomatic card in persuading them to do this. At the end of the day, this serves the constituencies that are located within the counties. It is to their benefit that if these areas are well developed, they will not be struggling to look for funds to accomplish certain development targets. I now shift focus to areas of increase, particularly on the Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP) of Ksh1,005,453,370. This conditional grant is geared towards making transformation of crop, livestock and fish production into commercially-oriented enterprises that will ensure sustainable food and nutrition security. The situation is pathetic if you were to do a complete survey in our country today. Our farmers are struggling to deal with the Necrotizing Fasciitis disease that recently rampaged their tender maize crops. Whenever they look for support, it comes late in the crop cycle when the crop is completely destroyed. Some of them have to re-plough and plant afresh. So, are we really building capacity? This conditional grant ought to go towards building people’s capacity to efficiently produce enough food to guarantee food security. It is just the other day that we dealt with the Food Security Bill in this House. One of the reasons why the Bill was brought is that there was scarce resource provision towards our food basket. We try to create sustainability in our production elements, particularly on food sustainability in our country so that nobody goes hungry. Every person has a right to food, health and everything that matters in this country. Therefore, if we are not able to empower our farmers to rise to the occasion and produce sustainably commercially viable enterprises that will improve their welfare and per capita income in their households, it is going to be difficult to raise the levels of development in our counties. I have raised this issue because I know if we work conscientiously together with the national and county governments, this will make a difference. Therefore, just like the other Members who spoke before me have said, there is need to have a transparent way of accounting for these conditional grants. The other area that is the basis for us to amend this Bill is the Water Towers Protection and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation programme; it is not over. The 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."
}