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{
    "id": 886248,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/886248/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 374,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Farhiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13179,
        "legal_name": "Farhiya Ali Haji",
        "slug": "farhiya-ali-haji"
    },
    "content": "project forward or not. So that money remains to be used by the same Ward; the Wards are protected. That creates a completion mechanism. After the implementation you have to also report quarterly to the County Assemblies. That can put people to task to ensure that they know where development is. You can report that nothing happened in the first quarter and the second quarter but you cannot do that in the third quarter. There is check and balance in this process as well. This is the kind of governance that we need in all the other Bills so that some of these things can bring meaningful development to the people of counties. Madam Temporary Speaker, there is also a Clause that takes care of misappropriation of funds. If you misappropriate funds, you go to jail for five years and are fined not less than Kshs500, 000 or both if you are found to be guilty. I find that to be a bit lenient and recommend that we impose a harsher penalty. I would say, and I will take that amendment to my Committee, that anybody who misappropriates funds from this Ward Development Fund is liable to pay three times what he took. If he cannot do that then he goes to jail for 10 years so that he does not have time to spend the money that he stole. This Bill clearly specifies that there is scrutiny by the County Assembly; again, there is separation of powers. Most times public participation is done in the county headquarters. Sometimes you find that most members of the public are illiterate or do not even have transport to go to the headquarters. In their village or Wards they will say this is what we have identified as our priority. When it is not implemented, then they can hold their MCA accountable for not making sure that those projects were implemented because he is the one in charge of playing the oversight role over those projects. It becomes an issue and the public will then put their MCA to task. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill also could have been passed by MCAs as an individual county assembly passing these Bills. There are some counties that have already put in place the Ward Development Fund. In order to ensure that there is a legal framework for it, this House has made a difference to counties by ensuring that there is uniformity between counties. The other issue that was talked about was that flag ship projects of counties will be curtailed by providing 15 per cent of the development budget. If you wanted to do meaningful development, you still have 85 per cent. If you put that 85 per cent in one project in one year, that will result into billions of shillings then you develop. Next time put the other 85 per cent in another year in another flag ship project, still counties will develop. We talked about marginalisation of counties. We do not want marginalization within a county and that is what this Bill is addressing. Madam Temporary Speaker, I thank you and I support."
}