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{
    "id": 984368,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/984368/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 154,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Government, there are those who are more zealous than the top leadership. When you give them an inch, they want to take a mile. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is completely unconstitutional to try and appropriate for any county. In fact, if you read the deed of transfer which Sen. Orengo has alluded to, we spoke about it at length during that time; it says that Nairobi City County shall ensure that those functions that are sourced and the money appropriated shall not be less than the amount appropriated in the last appropriation, subsequent to the current appropriation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, thereafter, we had discussions with the Controller of Budget (CoB) as to how, once the appropriation is done in the county assembly, then those specific amounts on the deed of transfer or any other instrument--- because according to the other memoranda of service level agreements on health, transport or all of the transferred functions, that money is then sent to that entity that is supposed to play those roles. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I just want to assume in good faith, that it was an oversight, but we must play our role. We must amend that. Nairobi City County should get its full complement based on division of revenue and the County Allocation of Revenue Act (CARA). I want to tell the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) of the County Assembly of Nairobi City - and I have spoken to them repeatedly - that they have not also abrogated their oversight responsibility. The constitutional responsibility remains the same. Their constitutional responsibility, apart from appropriation, includes also oversight. That oversight role must continue. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Committee. Let me not go into other issues because it is very disheartening. I think that now Coronavirus has also come as an additional excuse that counties are not getting more money. This was part of the plan even before this pandemic, but it is sad that counties are getting the same amount of money. We cannot have money going up in the national Government and then in the counties, it remains the same. We want to see reduction, especially this fiscal consolidation that the Ministry is saying they are doing on both levels of government. Today, we have seen that there are non-essential expenditures that can be re- appropriated - and it will be coming in our report - that certain expenditure now needs to be changed from what has been previously appropriated to now focusing on strengthening health care in this country and in our counties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir."
}