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{
    "id": 992897,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/992897/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 173,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 124,
        "legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
        "slug": "samson-ongeri"
    },
    "content": "because our county governments cannot be put under pressure while we are still arguing about whether or not we have agreed. Madam Temporary Speaker, now that we have the tools in our hands, how do we institutionalize? The advisory opinion is good enough. However, we must reach a level where we can institutionalize it into a legal framework or regulation on how these things must be done. Again, I urge our legal minds in the Senate and the Directorate of Legal Services to sit down and quickly draft a Bill to come before this House, so that we can institutionalize this advisory that has come from the Supreme Court. If we do not do that, we leave ourselves open. In future, any voter can go to court if we argue endlessly without agreeing on the Division of Revenue Act and request that the two Houses be dissolved. The Supreme Court has given us enough warning. Therefore, there will be no way to escape that; we will simply be dissolved. We do not want to get to that level. It will be an expensive affair for the nation and everybody else to go for fresh elections, and the ramification that it will have on expenses for the national Government and county governments will be dire. Therefore, we remain advised as the Senate on how this can be brought in, so that we can pass it in the form of a law and negotiate with the National Assembly. Finally, there has been the nagging problem of oversight funds. The fact is we are handling money when we get involved with the Division of Revenue Act and the County Allocation of Revenue Act later on. That is a money Bill. I hope that once we appropriate this money to county governments, they will not use it in the manner in which they desire without being oversighted. There is now a case for us to institutionalize the advisory. We must now make it mandatory within the framework of the law that we must not beg for oversight funds. It is a consequential effect of what it means to have Division of Revenue Act in place. Therefore, it must not be negotiated outside the framework of the advisory that we have received from the Supreme Court. It should be okay for us to get the oversight funds, so that we can effectively oversight the resources made available for our counties. I thank Sen. Okong’o Omogeni and his team for ably representing and giving us a fundamental conclusion on the legal tussle that has been going on between us, the National Assembly and the governors. Thank you."
}