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{
    "id": 886992,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/886992/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
    "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": "Members of Parliament and county assemblies should hold county governments accountable to see that this allocation is not diverted to other things. It should go into the development of youth polytechnics. This was informed by the fact that we were developing TIVET institutions at the constituency level. Children should access polytechnics such that once one gets a certificate in Electrical Engineering at the youth polytechnic, they can advance to a diploma and a Higher Diploma in a TIVET institution. Members of Parliament must seek to know the number of youth polytechnics in their constituencies because in the last two years, we have allocated Kshs2 billion under the conditional grant to development of youth polytechnics. On leasing of medical equipment, we have allocated Kshs6.2 billion and there are additional grants from donors. This is under the Managed Equipment Services (MES) Programme. This programme has been on since 2015/2016 and the initial allocation was Kshs4.5 billion. It grew to Kshs9.4 billion in the 2018/2019 Financial Year, but in the current allocation, it has been scaled down to Kshs6.2 billion. The Minority Whip might need to ask whether we have seen value for the MES Programme. Last year, during public participation, we visited 12 counties. We were shocked to find in some counties, dialysis equipment in stores just because they did not have soft water. Only hard water was available and dialysis machines require soft water. Machines are there, but they were not being utilised. I hope the Auditor-General and the Senators will put governors to task to know whether the equipment is being paid for to the vendors who leased them to the Government. In West Pokot County, theatre equipment had been delivered, but the room was not ready. These counties are paying for the equipment. In other counties, equipment is delivered, but it needs Three Phase power. In some counties, equipment could not be connected and utilised because there was no transformer to provide Three Phase power at a particular hospital. This is the case and yet taxpayers are still paying for the equipment. I want to encourage the Members of the National Assembly to support the Senators in accessing the Kshs500 million that we allocated to them to oversight county governments. Your Senator, MCAs and members of the public should oversee county governments meaningfully so that what is paid for benefits the citizens in the counties. The additional allocations that I have mentioned that are financed from proceeds of loans and grants from development partners are numerous as enumerated in the Report. I just want to touch on a matter that both this House and the Senate sought Motions of Adjournment to discuss, namely, drought and famine. It must not be lost on Kenyans that agriculture is a devolved function. At the national level, we only deal with policy formulation. I believe we have been able to do that. Adequate resources have been devolved besides the equitable share between the national and county governments. Each county government should budget for and appropriate to its department of agriculture. There are also conditional grants in form of loans, which will not be repaid by particular county governments, but by taxpayers through the national Government. I want to urge the Members to take interest in the number of conditional grants financed using loans. There is a live debate on public debt in this country. I listen to governors, MCAs, and commentators on national television talk about our national debt, but no one speaks to what we can do to borrow less or how well to utilise the money we are borrowing. These resources are not just being borrowed by the national Government for its use. A lot of resources are going down to county governments. Under the agriculture docket, I will mention"
}