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{
    "id": 876021,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/876021/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 344,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ndaragwa, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Jeremiah Kioni",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 49,
        "legal_name": "Jeremiah Ngayu Kioni",
        "slug": "jeremiah-kioni"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I take the opportunity to say thank you and congratulations to the Committee for a job well done. Secondly, I know we are still struggling with the place of the NG-CDF in our governance structure. I want to mention again that those who drafted the Constitution – and 27 of us sat in Naivasha – struggled with that issue and we made a deliberate decision that we were not going to do away with the NG-CDF. It must be part of our system in this country. Even as the issues find their way to court, it is important for the Judiciary to know that this is an issue that occupied the minds of those who helped in the drafting of this Constitution, and a deliberate decision was made to ensure that we do not scrap the NG-CDF even with the separation of powers. As the Chairman of the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC), we will sit and look for ways of ensuring that we guard and protect it and make it possible for the NG-CDF to continue being there even long after we are gone. The third thing is that there are some audit reports being circulated in the media including, what we are saying. It is important for me to say this on behalf of myself and others whose reports are in the media. Those are not audit reports for the period that we are serving as Members of Parliament. They are audit reports for the period that was covered by the previous MPs. In other words, the audit reports are up to June 2017. That is way before all of us seated in this House came into office. The bloggers can direct their insults to the right persons because that is what is currently happening. We have nothing to do with those expenditures. They were done before we were elected into office. The other issue I want to echo is what Hon. Christine has just mentioned. First, the NG- CDF is a model for the whole world. Other countries would want to copy it. So, we should not think of doing away with it at any given time. We should look for ways of improving it so that we can continue impacting on development on the ground. One of the reasons why this kitty was put together was because of the skewed manner in which the national Government was developing areas in this country. The NG-CDF was brought in to bring some harmony. We cannot do away with it. We can only strengthen it. There are still some teething problems. They are not issues we should be talking about. Even as we think of how to come up with a formula that reflects the level of poverty and other issues including the expansiveness of the regions, we must be very careful because previous formulas have favoured regions that were expansive at the expense of regions that were populous. Getting a balance between the two is something that we must continue struggling with. It is important for us, as MPs, to ensure that what you did when in office can be seen. We still see regions that are stricken with poverty, hunger and people who have no clothing and yet, the NG-CDF has been there for us all the time. As we think about how to bring the other factors on board, let us pay attention to the formulas being developed by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA). Bursary is a very popular thing. It is being used very well by the governors. I keep asking myself whether it is one of the things that they should handle. It is not something that we are able to talk about because of how emotive it is. It brings in votes. It has to be fair. It allows somebody to become popular to the masses. Is it really the role of the county government or have they gone out of their way to try and do that which pleases people more, but avoid doing what they need to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}