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{
"id": 1527112,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527112/?format=api",
"text_counter": 262,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ndhiwa, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Martin Owino",
"speaker": null,
"content": "billions—Ksh33 billion, as he correctly stated—but it cannot be disbursed to rural folks because of lack of infrastructure. I was asking Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal here, we used to have monies from the Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency (SIDA), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and others, and they were taken to the counties. Why do we have a delay on this? The effect is enormous. For example, if you look at community health workers, which I champion… I know the importance of early detection of diseases so they can be treated on time, without paralysing the system in the villages. Early detection of diseases is done by community health promoters, and that has been proven. It is much cheaper than dealing with progressed and full-blown diseases in tertiary care yet these arrears and allowances are held here. Hon. Temporary Speaker, no one can work without compensation. These people pay school fees, upkeep of their families and more. However, what is more intriguing is that when these funds are held here, many issues arise. One, they are not just grants and shares from the national Government; some of these are loans, meaning we are paying for loans that are held here and not being used for work in the rural settings. Some of the monies held here are also salary arrears for health workers. In my view, it appears we are shooting ourselves in the foot. At one point, we are giving hospitals, especially Levels 6 and 5, the budget to deal with the conditions that we should have prevented at the primary healthcare level. Money from DANIDA and similar agencies are supposed to improve primary healthcare, but it is being held here. As a result, we will have progressed conditions that could have been avoided. Some of the monies are also for climate resilience, agriculture and food systems resilience, which could make the rural economy more vibrant. However, the monies are held here. As a result, when this is not acted upon quickly—I urge Members to do so—it kills rural economies, interferes with the health of our people and also disrupts businesses. This is because some of these development partners are supporting small-scale businesses. We are also interfering with equity and equality, which continues to distance itself as time goes on. Many people are sinking into poverty, while a few, living opulently, are at the helm. I think it was wrong for institutions like the Senate and the CoG to demand that their Ksh10 billion be added to this Bill for it to pass. That does not make sense to me. It seems they are also shooting themselves in the foot. Why do we not just pass this Bill, release the money and fight the other battles separately and not with money that is holding people’s lives? I urge Members, as I know the necessity and urgency of releasing this money, to pass this Bill as soon as possible. I thank you for the time, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1527113,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527113/?format=api",
"text_counter": 263,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
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"content": " Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal, you are on my list here. Are you speaking on this?"
},
{
"id": 1527114,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527114/?format=api",
"text_counter": 264,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill, but what bothers me is that this Bill is for the Financial Year 2024/2025. These funds should have long been used yet we are still discussing them, and the people they were supposed to serve have not been served. The jobs they were supposed to do have not been done. My concern is the perpetual adversarial relationship between the counties and the national Government. I do not think the idea of devolution was to build territories. The idea was to ensure that monies flow to counties. It is a good idea because it has made equity much easier. It does not really matter to the people being served where the resources come from. As leaders, we should realise this. When we have territorial differences and argue over who should control what, the people are simply looking for water, if that is what they need. They do not want to know whether the water is from the national Government or the county government. This should not happen every year. Article 187 of the Constitution provides how this should be done. It outlines the intergovernmental and technical committees’ relations, even between policies and programmes at the county and national levels. Why is it The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1527115,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527115/?format=api",
"text_counter": 265,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": "that when it comes to giving the counties additional money, the same is not applied? I agree with my colleague, Hon. Martin that even if we have other things that we differ on, we should let the money go and serve the people. It is time we re-looked at our structures and asked ourselves if we are adhering to them or we are just using them as obstacles to hinder service delivery to the people. We should be questioning the programmes that are being delayed, and the arrears for the health workers. That money should have been allocated to the counties, and health workers should have been paid. If they work in the counties, the counties should pay them. In the bargaining agreement, it was stipulated that the national Government should pay. That was part of the return to work formula. Hon. Temporary Speaker, you are more versed in these things. I do not know why we delay these things. Looking at the issue of community health workers, we are putting more and more loads on them. If you go to the rural areas, you will find that we are entrusting them with more equipment. We are now asking them to take blood pressure and do diabetes tests but when it is time to pay them, the structures in place are not satisfactory. Even changing their title from “community health volunteers” to “community health workers” has been a challenge. This shows that deep inside, we do not want to acknowledge them. We are now calling them community health promoters. Part of the money is being paid by the national Government, and the other part by county governments. That is why this money has to move. We need to get a clear structure. My suggestion is that we get all that money and give it to the counties for them to pay the people. People are best paid where they work. Money should come through the supervisors that they know. You cannot be working in one level of government and your money comes from another level of government. If there is a delay, you do not even know how to follow up on that money. These are things we should do. We know that there are a lot of funds that come from our international development in the form of grants and loans. Those monies are being given to Kenyans that live in the counties. I do not know Kenyans who live at the national level. I do not know where they are. In fact, we should have more programmes at the county level. We should not have arguments about whether the grants or the loans should be moved to the counties. Even where there are revenues arising from activities that take place in the counties, like fines from the courts, it is agreed that such revenue should be shared. Those are issues that should be put into law. After a year, if we feel that the law is not as good as we wanted it to be, we can amend it. We cannot put services on hold waiting for a “perfect law.” I suggest that we focus more on getting the services to our people in the counties. Whatever money we get, it should go to the counties. Arguments should come later. With those remarks, I support this Bill."
},
{
"id": 1527116,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527116/?format=api",
"text_counter": 266,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " Hon. Phylis Bartoo."
},
{
"id": 1527117,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527117/?format=api",
"text_counter": 267,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Moiben, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Phylis Bartoo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to support the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (National Assembly Bill No.2 of 2025). We started devolution, and we cannot strangle it so that it is not able to serve the people. The county governments play a very important role in our economy, and in terms of ensuring the wellbeing of the people of Kenya. When they are not well funded, the same people we are serving become disadvantaged. A case in point is my County of Uasin Gishu. I empathise with my governor, Jonathan Bii alias “Koti Moja”. Due to scarcity of resources in the counties, he has been reduced to playing very minor roles in that county, which I do not want to mention. He does not have money to run the activities of the county. I am, firstly, worried about poor road infrastructure. At this time of the year, it rains heavily in Uasin Gishu. The roads are in very bad conditions currently. The machines which The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1527118,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527118/?format=api",
"text_counter": 268,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Moiben, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Phylis Bartoo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "have been purchased are just idle. The county government cannot fuel those machines for the road network to be improved. This Bill is very important. It should be dealt with the urgency it deserves so that our counties can continue with their operations. Secondly, is the issue of the health promoters. They are supposed to be given a very small monthly stipend of Ksh5000, which is not even enough but they are not even getting that money. There is no money in our counties yet we are giving them additional work. They are supposed to be registering people with the SHA as well as sensitising them on the same. They do that job diligently but at the end of the day, they do not have anything to take home. If we are supposed to make SHA functional, this money should be released to the counties so that they can run smoothly. Thirdly, there are no medications in our hospitals. In fact, as I was coming to Parliament a few minutes ago, I met a group of health workers demonstrating in the streets. That is a clear indication that our county the governments are not working. They are not operating because they do not have resources. They use the little resources they have to support other services because they are not enough. Additionally, there is the issue of distribution of fertilisers, which was devolved to counties. This is very key during the planting season. The county governments are supposed to do the last mile of distributing the fertilisers from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to different cooperative societies in different wards. Unfortunately, they are not able to do so. If you go to the NCPB stores in Uasin Gishu, you will find farmers angling for fertilizers. The county government is not able to transport the fertilisers from the NCPB depot to the cooperative societies in the region because they do not have resources. If devolution was supposed to make life easy for our citizens, then we had better dispense this money so that the common mwananchi can feel its effects. If there is an obstacle in the disbursement of this money, it should be removed so that members of our communities can benefit. For instance, if the Senate is the problem, and they want any funding through this Bill, they should wait until this one is dispensed with quickly. At the end of the day, we all serve the same mwananchi. The mwananchi who elected the Senator is the same mwananchi who elected the Governor, the Member of Parliament, and the Member of County Assembly. Let us, therefore, put our differences aside and look at what benefits mwananchi directly. Let us sort out other issues independently and not put obstacles that make the lives of our citizens difficult. For example, in my County of Uasin Gishu, specifically in my own Constituency of Moiben, we did the ground-breaking ceremony for a County Aggregation and Industrial Park. On that day, we were very excited that it would bring great value to the lives of farmers, mama mboga and everybody else in Moiben. It is now two years down the line. The building is just in a sorry state. There is no work going on because there is no money. I wish the disbursement of these resources could be fast-tracked so that execution of all the commissioned projects in the counties can commence. When projects are not completed on time, there is always an element of extra cost occasioned by such delays. Delays may also lead to contractors taking legal action against the county governments because contractors cannot just sit and wait for a decision to be made so that they are paid. People work under timelines. When they are not paid, they go to court, and the courts award them hefty compensation. Who bears such burden? It is the county government and, by extension, the Government of Kenya. I pray that we pass this Bill quickly to ensure that the money goes straight to the county governments, so that the county governments can serve the people of Kenya. I hope the money will be used for the purpose it is intended. Let us not have a scenario where resources are disbursed but are diverted to purposes they were not intended for. I wish the passage of this Bill could be fast-tracked so that the county governments can be up and running to serve of the people of Kenya. With those remarks, I beg to support. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1527119,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527119/?format=api",
"text_counter": 269,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " Hon. John Waluke."
},
{
"id": 1527120,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527120/?format=api",
"text_counter": 270,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sirisia, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. John Koyi",
"speaker": {
"id": 2792,
"legal_name": "John Waluke Koyi",
"slug": "john-waluke-koyi"
},
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for giving me a chance to also speak on this important Bill. I have a different view from some of us. We need to put good structures in place for this money going to the counties. Some counties are doing well while others are just swindling the money. If we are all in support of the money going to the county governments, we need to, first, appreciate the fact that there is no work going on in the counties because we have not put in place proper structures. For example, because there are proper structure in the execution of NG-CDF programmes, the work being done with NG-CDF money that goes to the constituencies can be seen, unlike the case of county government money. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I invite you to visit my constituency one day. Since the rollout of devolution, there has not been even a bottle of water in my constituency that is from the county government. I always wonder why there is nothing to show for the almost Kshs13 billion that the county receives annually. There is only one County Aggregation and Industrial Park in Busia County, which I visited. Maybe, Hon. Temporary Speaker, you were also there. I was impressed with the work that Busia County is doing. Even the President was amused when he saw the structures of the industrial park and all that was going on there. Busia County was given the same amount of money that my county, Bungoma County, received. Surprisingly, there is no iota of development in Bungoma County. Even the Principal Secretary, Dr. Mukhwana, was wondering how both counties got the money on the same day but one county could only see the good work being done in the other county – such as the industrial park that is almost complete and the beautiful tarmac roads that could be seen everywhere, showing that Busia County is working seriously. Some county government officials are just there to steal public money. Let us, therefore, put the structures in place before we release the money to the counties. Maybe, for now we should only give resources to the counties that are doing well, which include Busia County and Mandera County, among others. In Mandera County, the Governor returned unused money to the National Treasury because he is honest. For many years, county governors have let us down in many aspects. For example, the case of CHPs, who are always crying for salaries not being paid. There is a time the President made sure that he cleared all the balances that were demanded by the constituencies. He also made sure that all the counties were given all their monies. However, a week later, they were on national television complaining that there was no money. Where does the money go to? It is high time we became honest with the people even if they suffer. We are not just here as a voting machine. We want the truth, honesty, and for the money to be used properly for the benefit of mwananchi. If you ask people in some counties, like those in county; they will tell you that the money is being used badly. Let us, therefore, be candid enough to point out what is wrong. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1527121,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527121/?format=api",
"text_counter": 271,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " Hon. Japheth Nyakundi, Member for Kitutu Chache North. Give him the microphone. You can use the microphone over there."
}
]
}