Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 812909,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/812909/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "counties, it is unfortunate to report that there is a lot of confusion in the way resources – which we fight so hard to be taken to our counties – are utilized. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we speak, we have three entities that are active on the ground; the county government, the Member of Parliament (MP) through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the Women Representatives with the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF). However, all these three entities rarely consult the people. They do not have a mechanism of an effective public participation exercise that will integrate the various resources that are sent to our people so that we do not have duplication. I will give one example. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am surprised to learn that in various county governments, governors are now giving bursaries to entities that do not fall within their mandate. For example, university students have a fund that has been created for them by the national Government, where they can access loans. However, a practice has emerged because there is a popularity contest and this thing called bursaries has become so popular. Our governors are now diverting resources – that we send to them for specific functions that have been devolved – to functions that are reserved for the national Government. The disconnect is that we do not have an effective mechanism where we involve the public and where the public is informed on what the Constitution says about the functions of the national Government and the devolved units. This information is important so that the public can clearly tell the county governments to disburse money through their budgetary allocations strictly to functions that are devolved. Therefore, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am impressed to note that Section 4(b) of the Public Participation Bill (Senate Bills No.4 of 2018) states that:- “The conduct of public participation shall be guided by the following principles- provision of effective mechanisms for the involvement of the public, communities and organizations that would be affected by or be interested in a decision;” What has been happening in the past is that the Governor and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) would push through the passage of a budget where the people have not been effectively – and I want to emphasize the word ‘effectively’ – involved in the allocation of resources. Therefore, once we pass this Bill, we can now play our role as Senators in ensuring that before a budget is passed by any county government, there must be effective public participation. This should be the same thing for other elected leaders who have funds that are supposed to take development either to the constituency or to the county. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will give an example of the WEF. The Women Representatives have been allocated funds to support various projects in furtherance of affirmative action. This should include giving money to women groups and reinvesting part of it in bursaries. However, there is no mechanism or data on the ground to enable us to know the number of people who have benefited from the fund – which I will call illegal – in a particular ward from the governor’s office, the MP’s the NG-CDF bursary fund or from the WEF. 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."
}