{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=139140","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=139138","results":[{"id":1407801,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407801/?format=json","text_counter":380,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kisang’","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"year you want to collect Kshs700 million. What would have happened? What is the miracle that would have made the county to double or even triple revenue? This is something that we need to monitor because our people have suffered. Most contractors have closed business and some auctioned by banks. Some are depressed and others have died because of non-payment after providing goods and services to the county. This Motion is timely. We need to push and ensure that before the close of the financial year, county Governments pay the pending bills that are below Kshs1 billion and those above Kshs1 billion be paid in the next financial year. We should not use the excuse that there are delays in Exchequer releases. You remember, before the end of the last financial year, the Kenya Kwanza Government fully disbursed funds. There was no delay maybe in this financial year, but even though, they should get the allocations by September. They need to give priority to paying the contractors and not salaries or other unnecessary things."},{"id":1407802,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407802/?format=json","text_counter":381,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"[The Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri) left the Chair]"},{"id":1407803,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407803/?format=json","text_counter":382,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Veronica Maina) in the Chair]"},{"id":1407804,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407804/?format=json","text_counter":383,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kisang’","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"In fact, Madam Temporary Speaker--- I can see there is change of guard."},{"id":1407805,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407805/?format=json","text_counter":384,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Veronica Maina","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" There is change of guard. We proceed."},{"id":1407806,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407806/?format=json","text_counter":385,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kisang’","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"It is now Madam Temporary Speaker. I was insisting to say Mr. Speaker, I did not know that you have changed your sex."},{"id":1407807,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407807/?format=json","text_counter":386,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Veronica Maina","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Point of correction; it is the change of the Speaker."},{"id":1407808,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407808/?format=json","text_counter":387,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kisang’","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Sorry, it is the change of the Speaker. People have suffered because of this own source revenue. As I have said, let our Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) help the counties by ensuring that the Executive is accountable. They should not budget for unrealistic own source revenue. Secondly, I ask that as they pay the pending bills, we want them to do an aging analysis. They should pay according to the age. The bills that have been there since 2013 and 2014 be paid first, so that our people may continue to trade and employ. If you do not pay, it basically means that when business close, there are people who will be rendered jobless and go home. So, they should do an age analysis and give priority to the older debts. The Controller of Budget (CoB) also has a role to play here. She is the one who approves payments, if a county does not give priority to pending bills, she should not approve its payments. After approving, she should also have a mechanism of following up to ensure that the county Governments do not divert. They can cheat and give pending bills as a payment to be made but on the ground, things are different. They make other payments not as per the list that had been approved by the CoB."},{"id":1407809,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407809/?format=json","text_counter":388,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kisang’","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1407810,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407810/?format=json","text_counter":389,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Kisang’","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Madam Temporary Speaker, these counties should not resist. I know, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) and the National Treasury have a conversation to assist all the counties come up with a revenue Integrated Management System. However, people are saying that we are clawing back on devolution. When you give out a system, it is not clawing back on devolution, you are actually helping them. They are using the IFMIS on expenditure. So, if they are assisted to procure a revenue collection system and they are not paying for it, then we are helping them because, counties across have different systems. We do not even know if some of them get the money or it goes to private persons accounts. We need to push and ensure that the National Treasury helps them have that Integrated Revenue Management Systems so that it is easy and real time. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will be able to see what they will have collected. Otherwise, when we say that the own source revenue is not enough, we could be losing about 50 per cent of the revenue through other dubious means. Some could even be collecting cash and if you collect cash, that is basically an avenue for leakage. So, it is important that they embrace the system that has been proposed to serve all the counties because, if they are not resisting IFMIS, why should they resist the Integrated Revenue Management System? It will help them ensure there are no leakages. Madam Temporary Speaker, I have checked and seen that my county is among those that receive the least allocation. I have seen the pending bills for Elgeyo Marakwet County is just Kshs2.7 million. It is not bad. However, the Kshs2 million needs to paid because, maybe kuna mama mboga who is owed Kshs50,000 or Kshs100,000. The Governor should pay our people so that they can continue to trade. Most of our pensioners are suffering. Some have even died because the county governments have not remitted pension deductions to the County Pensions Fund (CPF), Laptrust, Lapfund and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). This is very serious. We should not entertain any pending bill on recurrent because, these are deductions from an employee’s payroll. So, why should they not pay what belongs to the employee? Madam Temporary Speaker, with those few remarks, I wish to support and ask Members to also support. If there are any amendments, we can bring them so that this Motion can be passed next week and ensure that, within the next one and half months or so, the county governments do a supplementary budget to pay these particular pending bills. I support."}]}