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{
    "id": 956684,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/956684/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 119,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Farhiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13179,
        "legal_name": "Farhiya Ali Haji",
        "slug": "farhiya-ali-haji"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I wish to join my colleagues in thanking the Kitui Executive and the County Assembly for welcoming us here. We are honoured to be in their Chambers today. What puzzles me is that Members make laws – I am talking about our brother or sister House or whatever you want to call it – when they make laws, they expect people to follow those laws; the same laws that they blatantly continue breaking. In this House, we have always spoken what we thought was right for this country. I do not think we have done it in terms of opposition or government. As I was coming from Nairobi to this place in the morning, the towns that I passed a year ago on my way to Garissa now look different. That shows that devolution is working and it is making a difference in people‘s lives. If blatant breaking of the laws results in devolution, which Kenyans voted for in their numbers, going down the drain, this will be uncalled for. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also wish to speak to the public out there. I am sure every Member of Parliament who sits in the other House comes from a county. Are they speaking their language? They are representatives of the people and the people should do something about it. I urge that they should start marking them and deal with them. We have an illegality that was passed because the Appropriation Bill was passed illegally. Then we have another illegality to correct an illegality that is already there. Therefore, where is the legality in that process? What makes it legal? As much as we feel that our counties are suffering and are starved of cash, all this is a culmination of wanting devolution to die a natural death. If we do not protect devolution because we are in the opposition, ―handshake‖ or the Government, then there is a big problem in terms of how we are constituted in this House. In terms of the Division of Revenue Bill that we passed, we all know that it was based on economic parameters that were very sound. Without any justification this House passed another law as if our hands were tied. The other issue is the fact that there is a lot of discussion around corruption in the counties. If we all want to protect devolution, let us protect it from all corners. Regarding the Appropriation Bill and in terms of how that money is spent, I think all that needs to be in sync so that Kenyans get the services they deserve and the devolution they voted for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir."
}