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{
    "id": 998606,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/998606/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1556,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Wajir North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ibrahim Ahmed",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13505,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Abdisalan Ibrahim",
        "slug": "ahmed-abdisalan-ibrahim"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also rise to support this Report. That said, I also want to echo the sentiments of my colleagues that it is important for us to have fair distribution of the Budget to Kenyans, so that we can have equality. The issue of equality and equity is very important in terms of distribution of resources because we all share the tax burden as Kenyans. That is why it is also necessary to share the resources equitably. Hon. Speaker, the key thing that we are depending on in this budgetary allocation is a needs-based approach as well as looking at the Big Four Agenda and its enablers. You will find that most parts of this country, especially the northern parts, and in particular my constituency, access roads have been destroyed by floods. Also, maternal mortality rate is extremely high. These reports are available and could have been used as the basis for us to do the resource allocation but unfortunately, this has not been the case. As we speak, health is one of the devolved functions. However, it is unfortunate that since this function was devolved, we have gone from bad to worse. That said, despite the fact that public participation is enshrined in Article 118 of the Constitution, in most cases, instead of depending on the needs-based approach with clear priority ranking, it is unfortunate that senior Government officers in Nairobi are making decisions in boardrooms and cascading down the needs. That is very unfortunate. There is a case in my constituency which is already in court. That is the unfortunate level we are in. That said, this country is also ill-prepared for rapid onset disasters. We were ill-prepared for COVID-19. Besides COVID-19, you will find that we were also ill-prepared for the floods which are also rapid onset disasters. The number of lives we lost due to floods are more than the number of lives we have lost to COVID-19. Despite the resource allocation that we are doing, it is unfortunate that to date, the country is ill-prepared for COVID-19. I come from a non-governmental organisations (NGO) background and I remember before I left, we had got to a level where we were sharing multi-agency and multi- sectoral assessment reports. There were also interventions where people were working together in terms of accountability both at the Government level and non-State actors. People were working closely together. In case of rapid onset disasters, be it diseases, floods or even clan conflicts, the response was better by far. We are currently in a terrible situation. That said, we should use the resources allocated to COVID-19 for prevention rather than just response. Currently, what is happening is just response. You will find that in a number of areas, the awareness level is extremely low. It is my prayer that the Ministry of Health will go a notch higher and conduct the necessary awareness so that we can increase prevention."
}