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{
    "id": 800775,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/800775/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 335,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance to make my contribution and share my thoughts as well on this Division of Revenue (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No. 14 of 2018). It is an extremely important Bill that places duties or functions of the Senate right at the heart of it; something that we consider seriously as Members of this House. For those of us that are fairly familiar with the history of this House, we do know that there were times when our colleagues from the ‘Lower’ House strongly felt that the Senate should not be given the opportunity to participate in this very important exercise of dividing revenue that has been raised nationally and sent to our counties. Therefore, every opportunity and time that we get as Senators to make our contributions and share our thoughts on this Bill, I find it to be extremely sacred and something that I cannot pass. Madam Temporary Speaker, there are many things that bother me, first of all, as a long standing Member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget of this House. Every time we get to listen and go through an extremely rigorous process of giving our thoughts about how this distribution is supposed to be done and certain amendments that we feel should be included. Unfortunately, on many occasions, out of 10 or 20 suggestions, only two or three are incorporated when we are lucky to actually have any of them added on to our budget and the division of revenue. It was not the intention of the drafters of our Constitution to have this House as a rubberstamp that only comes, debates and passes matters as presented to us. As representatives of the people, we speak to the very heart of the matters that we feel affect our people. Therefore, the thoughts and different ideas that are shared by the leaders in this House should be considered. Unfortunately, this does not happen. On many occasions, we have had the chance to question the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in charge of the National Treasury and his technocrats whether they incorporate our views or even get a copy of the HANSARD. Perhaps, after the contribution of Senators during the Division of Revenue Bill and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, a copy of the HANSARD should be sent to the county assemblies and the National Treasury. This will ensure that they listen to the very brilliant ideas that Senators continue to share with the country. However, they end up being flowery nice words that fill up the shelves of this Parliament without anybody taking them into keen consideration. Of course, we will support this Bill because it is extremely important for our counties to have money. We will continue sending resources and try to strengthen and build devolution because devolution is working. It is making our counties and the lives of the people that we represent in this House better, the challenges notwithstanding. There are many things that we want to continue to address. 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."
}