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{
    "id": 868509,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/868509/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Eng.) Hargura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 827,
        "legal_name": "Godana Hargura",
        "slug": "godana-hargura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to support this Motion on the approval of Senators to serve in the Senate Business Committee, which is a very important Sessional Committee because it prioritizes the business of this House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, all the Members proposed to serve in the Committee are capable and can drive the business of this House. I would just like to urge Senators, and especially the leadership of the House, that we have to take the business of this House seriously. We have had incidences where we had to postpone voting on Bills due to lack of quorum. We are starting a new Session and we should be different this time round. There are many issues that are now on the table, for instance, the issue of the possibility of a referendum, constitutional review and all that. I would like to urge the leadership of the House, especially the whips, to take it seriously upon themselves. The Committees which are the vehicles by which the Senate processes its business have been experiencing lack of quorum. I would like to urge Members to be serious, so that we are seen to be taking our work seriously. More so, the Senate Business Committee needs to take business seriously and focus on our function of ensuring that devolution works. Mr. Speaker Sir, one area that we need to focus on is the issue of resources to the counties. We have been having challenges with regard to disbursement of funds to the counties. We are always told: “We have not received funds and that is why we do not have drugs in the hospitals and health centers.” That requires us to take our business seriously and follow-up with the necessary Government institutions to make sure that adequate funds are released to the counties on a timely basis. There is the incident that Sen. Cheruiyot referred to today. Yesterday, I was in one of the wards in Saku Constituency where we were discussing land issues with the community. We were discussing the issue of the former municipality and land that the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) requires to establish a brigade in Northern Kenya, and the issue of water came up. That shows that people still have not realized service delivery through devolution. Therefore, we have to make sure that more funds go the counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, much as we know that there is the problem of usage of funds by the counties, it is still our responsibility to oversight them. While ensuring that more funds go to the counties, we should also enhance our oversight capabilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir."
}