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{
    "id": 890848,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/890848/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 198,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Farhiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13179,
        "legal_name": "Farhiya Ali Haji",
        "slug": "farhiya-ali-haji"
    },
    "content": "speaker’s residences at Kshs174 million, respectively. Surely, is that essential service delivery? Why would you build such an expensive residence for people who are supposed to be humble enough to serve our communities? There was also a sample study which was done to check the budget provision on non-essential infrastructure. For example, Kilifi County had proposed Kshs214 million for a deputy governor’s residence. Kilifi County is one of the poorest counties. Surely, where is our priority on this issue? Nyandarua County had a budgetary provision of Kshs800 million for construction of county headquarters. Right now, the Committee is proposing Kshs500 million. So, the taxpayers’ money being saved here is Kshs300 million. Madam Temporary Speaker, the same Kilifi County is also proposing Kshs200 million for a speaker’s residence. Look at your own county, there is a budgetary provision of Kshs850 million for the headquarters, while the maximum that the Committee is proposing is Kshs750 million. At least the margin of your county is not that bad. Imagine a budgetary provision of Kshs200 million for a deputy speaker’s house. Seriously! Madam Temporary Speaker, our Committee should demand for status of the current contracts that the county government has already engaged. Where there is a clause in the contract where it can be reduced, so be it. The ones that cannot be reduced, we cannot go back when there is already an existing contract. We need to request for the current status. After the adoption of this Report, our Committee should write to the CoG so that it does not look like we came here, debated and the Committee wasted their precious time doing this Report. Madam Temporary Speaker, the other thing that I want to bring to your attention is that there is already a contractual obligation. There are some contracts that have already started. For instance, the budgetary provision for Isiolo County headquarters is Kshs is 870 million. Tana River County, which is also another poor county, has a budgetary provision of Kshs900 million. Where is the conscience of these people that these respective counties have given them mandate to represent them? We have many poor mothers who cannot afford food. We have people who are dying of hunger in some of those counties. Honestly, are these our priorities? We have not even secured water for those people yet we can afford to waste a whooping Kshs870 million for a county headquarters. Madam Temporary Speaker, the current proposals by this Committee are based on designs that were done by the State Department for Public Works where even the governor’s residence is built on a two-acre piece of land. It is designed in such a way that there is uniformity in that residence. Madam Temporary Speaker, some counties had the proposal that the governor’s residence be built on a 10 acre piece of land. Why do you need all that space for a governor’s residence, when Kenyans are dying of hunger, they need food security and there is no space to do farming? What are our priorities in this country? Who speaks for the poor? We were told in this House that corruption is already embedded in the budgeting process of the counties. If that is the case, then it is very unreasonable for The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}