Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 887004,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/887004/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 228,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "billion last year. This is the third year we are pumping in Kshs2 billion. I do not know how many honourable Members are able to say that they have seen some improvement in the youth polytechnics in their areas. The whole idea was to make sure that those who do not go to university and secondary schools, or those who do not do well in secondary schools, have an alternative of where they can get practical skills which can be used to make sure that they have some money for their families. It is still another problem. We are allocating money but not much is being done in terms of follow-up. As a House, even as we approve this Division of Revenue Bill, it is important that we have a monitoring and evaluation framework to continue following up on the money. There is also the area of leasing of medical equipment. Initially, we used to allocate Kshs4.5 billion every year. We moved to Ksh9.4 billion and now we have moved back to Kshs6.2 billion. The reason why we are moving back is because there are challenges with implementation. Those challenges need to be documented and shared with the honourable Members so that even as we continue allocating this money, we are sure Kenyans are getting value for money. This is an area the Departmental Committee on Health could spend most of its time to see what is happening on the ground, so that they can advise this House on whether there is need to continue allocating more money. During our interaction with that Committee, we were happy that they mentioned the challenges that they are facing. They need to intensify that monitoring. We do not have to wait until there are problems so that we go. We need to be proactive. Committees can come up with schedules to go to the counties and see what is happening on the ground and out of that, give this House status reports which will supplement the report of Controller of Budget who normally presents figures which are less in terms of fiscal implementation, but more in terms of financial expenditure. There is also money set for capacity building for counties. Any time I look at the Auditor-General’s reports, I ask myself whether this capacity building has any positive impact towards improving performance of counties. The money is in form of loans and grants. We need to thank our development partners who have gone that extra mile to support counties so that they can engage in proper use of resources. Despite the fact that money has been there for the last three years to build their capacity, we expect, as a House, to see a reduced volume of queries from the Auditor-General so that, at the end of the day, we can say that, that capacity building is adding value to the whole process. The project of the Kenya Urban Support Programme is targeted at improving what we used to call municipalities under the old Constitution. The municipalities have now been given resources so that their infrastructure can now be improved. I am sure most of you might not be aware of what is happening. Governors are supposed to appoint the management boards for this fund. There is what they call town management board or urban centres management board. Instead of getting competent people to oversee and supervise the implementation of that important programme, they are getting their cronies and friends, some of who do not even have basic qualifications to manage such a huge portfolio. At the end of the day, our so-called municipalities remain the same as they used to be under the old Constitution. We urge the governors and, more so, the county assemblies, that even as they oversee the counties, they make sure that those management boards of the urban centres are composed of people who are very qualified and can add value. As I conclude, because I can see my time is running out, this House has been allocating resources towards regional referral cancer centres…"
}