{"id":807317,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/807317/?format=json","text_counter":278,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"North Horr, FAP","speaker_title":"Hon. Chachu Ganya","speaker":{"id":18,"legal_name":"Francis Chachu Ganya","slug":"francis-ganya"},"content":"are now arguing in this House, as it has just been done by my senior here, that all the counties are the same. Yes, Kenyans are the same, I agree with that. That is a fact provided for in the Bill of Rights. We are all equal before God and before our Constitution but policies have separated us. Policies have made us to be where we are today. Policies have made others to be where they are today. Some counties have illiteracy rates of almost 90 per cent while others have rates of less than 30 per cent. Whilst others have tarmac, as I said before, in every inch of their counties, others are yet to see what a tarmac road is. While our women are still walking for many hours to get water, others have piped water in their houses and in every inch of their villages. There is no way we are the same. That is why we must use different parameters in ensuring that resources are allocated so that the rest of us who have been left behind, especially the marginal counties in northern Kenya and other parts of the country, including Turkana County, are also able to appreciate the fruits of this great nation of ours. Having said that, it is good for us to have dialogue on this matter. When we do this, let us have a well-thought-out dialogue. Let us have a base line for development for the entire nation. Let us have development as a factor when we make the hard decisions that we are going to make very soon. We are not naive. We know the fact that, when it comes to a vote in this House, we may not have the numbers. However, that will not stop us from representing our people on the Floor of this House. We cannot fail to go on record, telling Kenyans the facts. It will always remain the truth. With those remarks, I beg to support the Bill hoping that we will allocate more resources to the county governments in future. The truth of the matter is that, if well managed, these funds can make a significant difference in our counties and those marginalised counties in particular. I totally disagree with an Hon. Member who said that with Kshs.11 billion, Turkana has nothing to show for it. We have a tarmac road, a university and our children are more food-secure today in Turkana. Even the poverty index was different even before devolution came into existence. I have not had a hospital, today I have a fully-fledged hospital in my constituency and it has made a difference. It is not like Kiambu or other areas that have always enjoyed all the resources of this nation at our expense."}