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{
    "id": 887064,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/887064/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 288,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mwingi Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Mulyungi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13442,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Mutemi Mulyungi",
        "slug": "gideon-mutemi-mulyungi"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, allocating Kshs310 billion to 47 counties is ridiculous. Those are peanuts. A simple arithmetic shows me that it is about Kshs6 billion per county. Allocating Kshs6 billion to a poor county like mine is a joke. Those are peanuts. It will not achieve any meaningful development. I wish the Committee divided the revenue equitably such that the national Government gets 50 per cent and the county governments get 50 per cent. Although they are following the Constitution, something needs to be done. In the spirit of the Constitution, devolution was meant to transfer development and services to counties. More than five years down the line, devolution of services has not been felt in counties. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, instead of devolving development and services to counties, we are devolving corruption. Some counties are conduits of corruption. Some counties have constructed tarmac roads; others have free medical care while some have value addition factories. But it is regrettable to note that there are counties that have nothing to show more than five years down the line. In my county, one-and-half years since the current regime took office, roads are impassable. Yet, I am being asked here to allocate more money to that county. There is no significant and visible infrastructure. When you question the Governor, she says that her projects are software. I do not know what software is, but I want to see a road, a market and scanning machines in hospitals. I do not want to see software. I wish development in counties can be equated to development through the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). Most of the development in villages is as a result of NG-CDF. I wish this money could be allocated to Members of the National Assembly instead of governors because their stomachs are now too big. Some are even diarrhoearing. It is unfortunate that we are being asked to pass all this money. I have heard the Chairman say that we allocate money to Senators for oversight. I wonder who between the Senator and the MCA is in a better position to oversee counties. The MCA is closer to the people than the Senator. Therefore, I do not support the idea of money going to Senators for overseeing counties. I want a lot of money to be given to MCAs to oversee their wards so that they can see what the governor is doing in their wards. The Senators should be busy overseeing the governors in Nairobi. You can see the Chairman is not serious with this thing. I have heard the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee in his presentation say that he has got a tarmac road in Kinoo. We are here discussing about devolving money when actually some Members are benefiting from this money while others are not. I want a tarmac road in my constituency and I do not see it in this Division of Revenue Bill. The chairman has spoken about a road in his constituency. Article 10 of the Constitution provides for public participation. I have been in this Parliament now for almost one-and-a- half years. I have never been called for public"
}