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{
    "id": 955844,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/955844/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 93,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Garissa Township, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Aden Duale",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "It is an important Bill in ensuring that the Kshs378.10 billion allocation that has been provided for in the Division of Revenue Bill is divided among the 47 county governments, pursuant to Article 218(1)(a) of the Constitution. The spirit of the Constitution was to ensure that there is flow of resources from the central Government to county governments and to the grassroots where most of our people have a lot of problems. The country has tried before to ensure that centralisation of public resources through the District Focus Programme is in place. However, the trickle-down effect still faces a lot of challenges. I observed that the substantial resources that have been allocated to county governments since the onset of devolution have impacted positively on the counties we come from. Maybe it has had an impact in headquarters of counties where you might see big cars and some development. But when you go to rural constituencies, I am sure Members here will agree with me, you will not feel the fruits of devolution. Let us be very honest. We are all here to appropriate money to the central and county governments. A time has come when we must assess the achievements of devolution. We need to go back to Bomas and ask about the successes of devolution 10 years down the line. With resources available to counties from development partners, national Government, own source revenue and private investors, by now, counties, in my opinion, should have become sustainable. We have seen that the focus of the Senate and the Council of Governors is on the equitable share of revenue. Where is the other revenue collected by counties? In some instances, the former county councils used to collect more money than the current county governments. That is the problem we have. If you check Machakos County, you will find that the Mavoko Municipal Council used to collect more than what the current County Government of Machakos County collects. Even the little they collect does not go to the central account. The governors have been talking about the Kshs316.5 billion while the President yesterday signed Kshs378.1 billion. In the Division of Revenue Bill and County Allocation of Revenue Bill, there is Kshs8.9 billion allocated for roads in counties. I ask colleagues: Are roads done by counties in our constituencies? The answer is no. There is about Kshs2 billion allocated to village polytechnics annually. Is that money felt in the village polytechnics in our constituencies? The answer is no. In constituencies that have Level 5 hospitals, each hospital, including the Garissa Provincial Hospital, gets Kshs450 million annually. Is that conditional Government grant to Level 5 hospitals like Kakamega, Garissa, Mombasa and Machakos Level 5 hospitals felt? There is direct money from the Division of Revenue Bill and the County of Revenue Allocation Bill to counties. The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) has closed accounts of all counties because they are unable to pay for the drugs they were supplied with. Let us call a spade a spade."
}