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{
"id": 1582882,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582882/?format=api",
"text_counter": 205,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "As I look forward to contribute properly to this Motion, I remind myself and the entire House a number of things. Definitely, there has to be a formula, in terms of how we share resources horizontally. Besides that, as much as the Chairperson has brought us what the Senate has looked at, I believe there are many other things that are not yet looked at properly. One of these factors is the constitutional considerations that we have. There are provisions in Article 203 of the Constitution. It states the criteria that shall be taken into account in determining the equitable shares of the revenue raised nationally between the national Government and county governments. Article 203(1)(d) of the Constitution states there is the need to ensure that county governments are able to perform the functions that are allocated to them. When looking at the allocation of revenue to counties, who has ascertained or computed the county functions and their value before we allocate them resources? The other important factor that the Constitution provides, that has not been looked at, is the fiscal capacity and efficiency of county governments. The CRA needs to look at these things before we allocate money to these counties. When you consider these factors, we have counties which need be closed down. These are critical factors and constitutional provisions that we really need to look at every single time that we are allocating resources. Two months ago, we placed more money into counties in the name of additional funding. We passed a Motion and gave them more money. At what stage do we consider these additional monies allocated to counties, especially when we are doing the horizontal placement of resources? The whole issue of additional funding is a critical matter that needs to be looked at in terms of functions that the national Government is still performing on behalf of the counties. Where are those monies? Where do we look for them? For example, take the issue of markets. In the last financial year, we placed a lot of money in markets, which is a function of county governments, done by the national Government. Another issue is that of grants. Each year, there are grants disbursed to counties. However, at the point where we determine what resources go to which counties, nobody knows the counties that have been getting grants. For example, Embu is listed among the counties that deserve increased allocations. But when you look at grants, you find that Embu has received more in grants than Busia over the past few years. This is an issue that must be revisited. We must ask ourselves: where do we usually allocate our grants? When discussing additional revenues, where do those revenues go? These are factors that should be evaluated consistently when allocating resources. Finally, we are allocating resources to counties where the Equalisation Fund has also placed resources. The Constitution outlines the purpose and target areas for the Equalisation Fund. Why are we again directing resources to those same counties using the same indicators? What this means is that some counties are receiving double allocations. One from the Equalisation Fund and another from horizontal allocations. These allocations are based on identical criteria. These are critical factors that we need to evaluate moving forward. One day, someone will challenge us in court. Why are we not adhering to constitutional The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1582883,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582883/?format=api",
"text_counter": 206,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "parameters that must be looked at keenly? Why are we adding more money to some counties after allocating significant resources through other mechanisms? Why are grants ignored when reviewing county allocations? Why are we applying factors used by another fund for horizontal placement? Thank you."
},
{
"id": 1582884,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582884/?format=api",
"text_counter": 207,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " The Hon. Tom Joseph Francis Kajwang’, Member for Ruaraka."
},
{
"id": 1582885,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582885/?format=api",
"text_counter": 208,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ruaraka, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. TJ Kajwang’",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Temporary Speaker, even though I do not intend to marshal two-thirds of the House to overturn this Bill, I must speak to the negative. I find the formula adopted by the Commission to be fairly simplistic. After 15 years of constitutional implementation, we ought to have reviewed and adopted more robust statistical models for discussions on revenue sharing. When the formula is narrowed down to population, geographic size, and poverty index alone, many other important statistical indicators are excluded. These are indicators which dovetail with production or development in a country. I rise after listening to earlier speakers decry, for instance, why a capital city like Nairobi should be allocated a significant portion of revenue. I wish to defend Nairobi, not because I come from Nairobi City, but because I also live and do business here. Nairobi is the apex. In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution, you develop places where factors of production are easily harnessed and developed to sustain quick and robust changes. That is where we ought to direct our finest infrastructure and resources. The population is fairly industrious, dynamic, and capable of productivity. We must stop thinking in tribal or sub-county terms. We must think nationally. Development of urban centres is not just for the benefit of a region. It is for the benefit of the nation. I would expect development parameters such as development index, life expectancy, reproductive health and access to essential services to be considered. What resources are available in a county? What minerals lie underground? I would have no issue if Taita Taveta, for example, received more money to exploit its mineral wealth. nor would I object to Turkana receiving additional allocations for oil exploration. If we merely distribute money because regions are labelled as counties in the Constitution, just to appease everyone, we fail to create meaningful development and fail to enhance our GDP. We must think as a nation, although there is devolution, which allows us to harness our rural areas. If Migori, for instance, could lead us in terms of GDP growth, let us invest in Migori and use it as a national launchpad towards being like Singapore. We need an intellectual discourse around these formulas. We must think as patriots and move away from thinking of ourselves as small, fragmented entities called counties. The last thing we need to do is allocate funds where money yields more money, and where real happiness results. Sometimes, real happiness is not always about money. Sometimes it is about social protection. Sometimes it is about social justice. Just recently, we saw young people protesting in the streets. That should concern all of us. The indicators of social justice in Nairobi, for example, are alarmingly low. That ought to be a parameter when allocating resources. I admit that this is a complex science. But I urge this House to put its mind to the task. We must develop a more reasonable and widely accepted formula. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1582886,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582886/?format=api",
"text_counter": 209,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ruaraka, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. TJ Kajwang’",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I know Daktari knows I do not have two-thirds to override this Motion. I, nonetheless, leave it in the Hansard that somebody will consider that I, T. J. Kajwang’, raised substantive and robust criticisms against the formula used. Thank you very much."
},
{
"id": 1582887,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582887/?format=api",
"text_counter": 210,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal."
},
{
"id": 1582888,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582888/?format=api",
"text_counter": 211,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I rise to support the report and the proposed formula. It is an improvement on the previous one. I also appreciate the effort that has gone into developing it. However, it has limitations. It is based on only three things: population size, land area, and poverty index. Now, looking at the poverty index is looking at the reverse. It would have probably been better to look at the human development index because it tells you what people need. The poverty index tells you how much people are suffering without giving solutions. The human development index tells you the state of health, education, and the standards of living of a people. For example, in health, you would use such figures about life expectancy at birth. With further analysis, you will find out why life expectancy is shorter in this country, for instance, Nyanza compared to the central parts of the country. It will inform how long people have been in school and what they have achieved by the age of 25. Thereafter, we will look at their per capita income. I think those will give you a more robust indicator or index. You can also use practical formulas like distance to health centres. Determining how far people in a given county walk to the nearest health centre and the number of tarmac roads in kilometres per individual. Those are more direct ways of looking at it. It informs how many more tarmac roads we need. The distance to health facilities informs the number of health facilities in an area and how many more are needed. As much as they are using the poverty index, they should work with the human development index and its components next time. That will get the direct input needed to estimate allocation to counties. More important is how money is used. Every time we stand here to talk about corruption in counties. In my opinion, the greatest change since devolution is the number of expensive houses you see in the countryside. When you ask, you find that most of these people work in counties. To which I say, “Well, at least something has happened”. We talk about corruption but there is one thing we do not look at. What about systems? Systems help us reduce corruption. Although we cannot eliminate it, we can reduce corruption. We were talking about the financial systems we use in counties just last week. We have the bigger Public Finance Management Act. However, how well are people at the county level trained on procurement systems? Regarding human resource, I will give an example of the health sector to which I am familiar. Of all devolved functions, I think health is the sector with the largest and most complex human resource. That is why we have the issues. On training, we have only one school of government in the country. By now, and because of devolution, one would expect we have many schools of government in various parts to enable county officers get appropriate training. We compare county governments with the national Government that has existed for over 100 years. The number of people who have gathered experience is huge in national Government. County governments have existed The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1582889,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582889/?format=api",
"text_counter": 212,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": "for about 10 years. They need a lot more intensive training, however, much we expect them to gather experience. It is also clear that they are figuring out the 12 counties because they are small. The size of counties also matters. I believe that our counties are too small. The evidence is that they are now coming up with regional blocks. They have realised that they need to be larger to be more productive. How did we get to this number 47 in Naivasha? I know it may be difficult to go back to the eight that were originally proposed. These are issues that we must keep looking at. Regarding raising own revenue, we should put an index in the distribution formula that indicates how much a county has raised and thereafter reward those who are doing well. They should probably get more as an incentive. Otherwise, we want to depend on the results of this formula without raising own revenue. I have said before that we had the Constitution Implementation Commission. It was largely legal but it died because its term was over. We later came up with the Transition Authority and now the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC). This House also has a Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee. I think we should regularly look at their structures and performance. What are the underlying factors if Members of County Assemblies are constantly working hard to impeach governors? What are the factors if counties are not performing? Thereafter, we can review the whole county governance with these facts in mind. The formula they are working on is fairly scientific and difficult but it can give a basis for regular review of how devolution is working. With that, I support. Thank you."
},
{
"id": 1582890,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582890/?format=api",
"text_counter": 213,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you. Next is the Member for Kitui Central, Hon. (Dr) Makali Mulu."
},
{
"id": 1582891,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1582891/?format=api",
"text_counter": 214,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Makali Mulu",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you for this opportunity. I join my colleagues in commenting on this Fourth Generation Revenue Sharing Formula. As I do that and from the word go, I want to say that I would have opposed this formula if I was able to move the numbers. Let us go on record on a number of issues now that we will not be able to move the numbers. Hon. Temporary Speaker, sharing public resources has never been an easy assignment. It actually triggers war and causes serious conflicts in some countries because resources generally determine how areas or regions develop. I have looked at the factors considered in this Fourth Generation Revenue Sharing Formula and the three previous formulas. If you analyse the first to fourth formula, they have dropped some things and onboarded new ones. They have been changing contribution percentages and it has impacted how much each county gets. I must appreciate the current formula for one thing: ensuring that, in future, no county will get less than what they have gotten in the past. That is important. Let me take you back to the history of this country. There was Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya . What did that paper do? It emphasised on developing high potential areas in this country; meaning that allocation pushed public resources to areas seen to have high potential. From the word go, resource The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informationpurposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}
]
}