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{
    "id": 842961,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/842961/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 203,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, secondly, when it comes to the conditional grants, it is important that in the accountability within the counties - the Chairman of the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) is here - we want to see the Auditor-General’s report in so far as the conditional grants are concerned, because it is easy to track the money that has been sent to counties, but the conditional grants have a player at the national level; sometimes you have a donor, then you have national Government office and then you have a county government office. Again, for purposes of accountability, I hope that we can then track this money to the very end so that we can look at the Auditor-General’s report in so far as the resources that are going to the counties are concerned. Mr. Deputy Speaker, public monies are important and devolution is a great thing. Despite the misgivings that Sen.Orengo mentioned here, devolution has done a wonderful thing in this country. Even the fact that Kshs4.4 billion is going to be spent in Elgeyo Marakwet County, I do not think that would have happened in a centralised system of government. Whether it goes to the Recurrent Expenditure so that people are purchasing goods at the local level or going to do few roads in Elgeyo Marakwet County, by the local government, devolution has revolutionised this country. Many counties are doing a fantastic job. Kenyans are witnessing counties doing things that I can say, for example, in my county a few things have been done, including the refurbishing and re-equipping of the county referral hospital in Iten. You have situations where a few roads have been opened in Elgeyo Marakwet, you have the Rimoi Game Reserve in Kerio Valley which is now functional, attracting many investors. Even as we say so, we must be ready to challenge our counties to perform. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my county spends almost Kshs3 billion of the Kshs4 billion they get on Recurrent Expenditure. Why? Like what the President said the other day, we are doing good politics, but bad leadership. We must be able to interrogate whether it is still necessary for county governments to have the number of staff they have in areas that are not critical. It is not only doctors, nurses or ECDE teachers, but many of the staff at the county level are consuming public resources. There must be a plan that will ensure that at least half of resources of counties can go to the development budget. Can you imagine now you have less than half of 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."
}