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{
    "id": 886223,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/886223/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 349,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Sometimes people erroneously argue about the quality and breed of MCAs that we had. I do not know about other counties but based on my experience, because I was there during the previous Parliament, in every elections cycle, we keep on getting better MCAs in terms of even their capacity to process things and their understanding of how devolution should work. Therefore, it is my desired view that it will be the same way the Executive submits its appropriations before Members of the National Assembly and leave to them to made determination on what to fund and what not to fund. The Executive sends people to lobby but Members of the National Assembly always determine the amount of money to be allocated to things like security and food and so on and so forth. As we proceed to the future, it will be good to keep increasing the capacities of county assemblies in terms of determining what is important for county governments. I do not buy the idea that only a governor should make decisions. When the national Government proposes something and the National Assembly either agrees or disagrees with them, it provides the necessary checks and balances. People will be able to ask; ‘why are you putting extra amount on health care yet we feel that our hospitals are properly funded and can take care of our people?’ They can suggest that more money be put in agriculture because their people continue to face drought. I look forward to a time when we shall be able to do this. Clause 13(1) of this Bill continues to devolve this power to our county assemblies. It states that;- ‘A county budget or county plan under the County Governments Act or Public Finance Management Act dealing with allocation of resources shall clearly indicate the manner in which the resources have been equitably distributed across the wards in the county.’ Clause 13(2) states that;- ‘A county Assembly- (a) shall not approve a county plan or budge that does not comply with subsection (1); and (b) may amend a county plan or the development expenditure in a county budget in order to ensure the equitable allocation of resources across the wards of the respective county.’ This is the point that I was putting across. Over time, we must allow our county assemblies enough room and space. I do see the sense and wisdom as to why we did not give them that space and room in the first cycle of the first five years and during this particular cycle but progressively, it is something that we may need to do. Clause 15 provides that:- ‘A county executive committee member shall submit quarterly reports to the county assembly on--- setting out information.’ It also provides what will happen if they fail. They must be able to say that; ‘this is the amount that we have been able to expend on this particular project’. A county executive committee member for finance must table a report before the county assembly stating that; ‘these are the projects that we intended to do in this particular quarter and this is how much we have spent’. If a project was budgeted at Kshs10 million, he can say that; ‘we have so far sent Kshs2 million to that project and it is on-going. When they raise the next certificate, we shall be able to pay’. The Members of the County Assembly (MCA) will be able to see any mischief on the part of the executive and they will be able to flag it. They can ask for the reason as to why"
}