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{
    "id": 926491,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/926491/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Nuh",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2840,
        "legal_name": "Junet Sheikh Nuh",
        "slug": "junet-sheikh-nuh"
    },
    "content": "got an opinion which is just advisory and not binding. They decided to bring this lock jam by saying this Bill must go to the Senate. Now we are in this stalemate. I have just seen this afternoon that you presented a Division of Revenue Bill from the Senate. The last time I checked the Constitution, I thought money Bills can only originate from the National Assembly. That is a matter that we have to interrogate or bring to your attention so that you can make a ruling on the constitutionality of that Bill. This House cannot engage in unconstitutional exercise. As much as you have referred it to the Budget and Appropriations Committee, it is also in your ruling that a Member can stand in his place at any time and raise a constitutional issue any time during debate. So, I stand here to seek your guidance on the constitutionality of the Bill that came from the Senate; whether a money Bill can originate from the Senate. It will be unprecedented. We shall be going against the Constitution. I leave that to you to decide in your own wisdom. After we got the new Constitution, I think we created a fourth arm of government called ‘Constitutional Commissions’, which think that whatever they do or say is final, just like the way the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is handling this House. If you look at the functions of the CRA, the Constitution is very clear. Article 216 says that the principal function of the commission is to make recommendations. English is very simple. When you recommend something, it does not mean that it is a final deal. You can reject it, amend it or accept it. I want to go further than that and look at Article 203 on equitable share and other financial laws. It stipulates the criteria that shall be used in determining the equitable share provided for under Article 202 and in all national legislations concerning county governments enacted in terms of this chapter. Number one, you must consider the national interest. I do not see county interest here. It is national interest. Secondly, when you go to paragraph (d), it says the need to ensure that county governments are able to perform the functions allocated to them. The question I want to put to CRA is this: When have they quantified the functions that have been devolved to the counties under the Fourth Schedule? Even the Senate has never come up with a Bill that tells us the quantification of the functions of county governments. Why can they not tell us how much is required to bury a dog, for example? That is one of the functions of the county governments. Why can they not quantify so that money can follow the functions? If you tell us the functions that have been devolved to the counties cost Kshs500 billion and the justifications are here, then we are obliged to devolve more funds to the counties. We devolve money every year without knowing the costing of those functions. We do not know whether a dog is buried at Kshs10, a crematorium is Kshs100, environmental issues and solid waste management is Kshs100. We must know the costings of these functions. The first important matter CRA should deal with is to give us the costings of the functions of the county governments. It is now eight years since the Constitution was put in place and they cannot tell us how much the functions of county governments cost. I do not know what the CRA based the amount they have recommended on. Secondly, when this matter began, the Senate said that we should devolve Kshs335 billion to the counties and the National Assembly said that we should devolve Kshs310 billion. Later, the Senate said that we should devolve Kshs327 billion. Today, they have brought a Bill to the National Assembly of Kshs335 billion. If that is not dishonesty, what do you call it? Somebody told you yesterday to devolve Kshs327 billion and today he brings a Bill of Kshs335 billion. These are the most dishonest people that you can deal with. I saw them demonstrating last week. Demonstrations were closed after the Handshake, the way Hon. Duale said. The only The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}