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{
    "id": 867217,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/867217/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 103,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1835,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
        "slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
    },
    "content": "(c) Kshs1.854 billion for the IDO World Bank Credit for the Kenya Urban Support Project (KUSP Urban Intuitional Grants UIG) plus balances carried forward from the Financial Year 2017/2018. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the House passes this County Allocation of Revenue (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bill No. 29 of 2018). From the Report that we tabled yesterday, Hon. Members will note some of the recommendations by the Committee. One is that the National Treasury and development partners develop a framework to ensure early engagement in signing of contractual agreements for conditional loans and grants to county governments with a view to aligning it to Kenya’s budget process timelines. What we are saying is that since the National Treasury and also our development partners are aware of the budget preparations cycle, the National Treasury develops a framework where we do not have to keep going back to amendments either to the Division of Revenue Bill or even to the County Allocation of Revenue Bill because of delayed signing and conclusion of agreements. So, they need to engage and conclude all these agreements for grants and other budgetary support way before the budget process is concluded to avoid us repeating some of these things often. Secondly, we have recommended that a framework for assessing the performance of conditional allocations for loans and grants for effective oversight be developed by the National Treasury in consultation with the implementing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Definitely, our Senate has a huge role to ensure that, indeed, they perform their duties in line with their constitutional mandate to oversee county governments and ensure that they offer meaningful oversight on the implementation of projects from these grants. This is donor money. A bit of this money, as you will note from the Bill, is a credit component. So, it is money that we are borrowing that we will pay back, as much as it has a grant component. We have also recommended that where Government is borrowing and there is a credit component, then the credit component should not be used for studies and such things. Such money should go towards real development work. It should be used to implement development projects. Therefore, we challenge our Senate because a lot of this money is going to waste in our counties and yet the Senate has a responsibility to oversee how this money is utilised in our respective counties. At least part of the Urban Support Programme is going to all the 47 counties except Nairobi and Mombasa counties. Therefore, the money will be used to roll out development projects and it will be important for our Senators, in their respective counties, to oversee how the money is utilised. It should ensure that it goes to meaningful use as opposed to getting misused at the county level. I do not want to belabour anything more than that since this is a small Bill. Hopefully, it will pass without any amendments. I beg that we do support it. I request the Leader of the Majority Party to second."
}