{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=148623","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=148621","results":[{"id":1504412,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504412/?format=json","text_counter":323,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Jematiah Sergon","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"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":1504413,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504413/?format=json","text_counter":324,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Jematiah Sergon","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"wage bill is bloated. Every governor comes in and he puts 100 people on the payroll. Most of them are ghost workers. At the end of the day, we are just supervising incompetence, corruption and lack of services in the counties. Even if you are the best President in this country, as long as we still have these counties behaving this way and electing these governors in the same way... Once you are a governor today, for you to be re-elected, you use probably three times the amount of money you used before. When you are elected a governor, the first thing you will do is to save to come back. This impedes service delivery in the counties. As I support the disbursement of money to the counties, I reiterate that money is not a problem, but it is its management. One of the ways is by investing in industrialization in order to generate more income and provide better services, specifically in health and agriculture. It was very unfortunate for us to devolve agriculture and education. If you are very keen in Kenya today, compared to most of us who went to school a long time ago, there is a distinct comparison of a child who is between class one and class four in the village. They are not able to read. The illiteracy level is very high because of the poor quality of education. The Early Childhood Development teachers who teach these children are from the village and probably not paid well. This impedes the quality that we give to our children yet it is the foundation of our nation. As we devolve these funds, we must reflect on how to manage the resources allocated to the counties and help governors understand that the society is now devolved. What happens in the county automatically reflects everywhere in the country. Thank you, Madam Speaker."},{"id":1504414,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504414/?format=json","text_counter":325,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Deputy Speaker","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Hon. Caroli Omondi, Member for Suba South."},{"id":1504415,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504415/?format=json","text_counter":326,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Suba South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Caroli Omondi","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I am very thrilled by the passion I am witnessing amongst Members on this particular issue. All the bad habits we see in the counties have actually been transplanted from the national Government. We are doing an introspection of ourselves as a country. While I support devolution and I am happy to see that at least an additional Ksh7 billion is being disbursed to them, let us just take some examples so that you understand where I am coming from. Recently, I was made aware of a county where the speaker of a county assembly was removed from office. They pretended that he had lost the confidence of the Members of the County Assembly. The reality was that he did not have the necessary academic qualifications to hold the job of a speaker. I am sure that in this House and in the Parliamentary Service Commission, we have similar cases. There is nothing new that the governors or lower cadre people are doing in the counties that we are not doing up here. Cronyism is very common. In the counties, people employ their relatives and their friends. It happens in the national Government and here. On tribalism, the Constitution requires that in every county, 30 per cent should be non- residents of that area. How many of us have tried to hold our governors accountable for that? At least I am happy to report that my constituency manager is a man from Kisii Land. Another issue is inflated cost of projects. We are buying our information management software for our health sector at Ksh104 billion, something that can be developed by university students. It is the same thing in the counties. There is no difference. On procurement, we are not following our procurement laws at the national level. So, they are copying us. They are doing the same thing everybody is doing."},{"id":1504416,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504416/?format=json","text_counter":327,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Suba South, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Caroli Omondi","speaker":null,"content":"Regarding the absence of accountability, I was once at an event when someone very senior whispered to me, “You see all these governors in front of us? If it were not for some intervention, they would all have been charged.” There were six governors right in front of us, and I was shocked. Governors amuse me whenever I meet them. Apart from what the Majority Whip has said, they also work with cheer gangs"},{"id":1504417,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504417/?format=json","text_counter":328,"type":"heading","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"."},{"id":1504418,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504418/?format=json","text_counter":329,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"I am told there is a budget called hospitality and public participation in most of our counties. That is where money is taken to finance"},{"id":1504419,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504419/?format=json","text_counter":330,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"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":1504420,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504420/?format=json","text_counter":331,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"cheering squads and to finance goons. So, a governor walks into a funeral and the tent is almost brought down and the coffin is almost knocked down. You wonder where these people went to school. What is their upbringing? They sit on the chairs, knock out everybody and they have no respect. It is saddening, but it is the same. Some of us do that as leaders. On theft, I have on record where a former governor established a revenue collection system for Eastern Province, but the funds were actually being collected in Suba; these so- called online M-Pesa pay bills. Governors do that. They set a revenue collection system, money is paid in their counties but the discounting is done elsewhere and the money is remitted to them. This is just a reflection of who we are as a country. Hon. Deputy Speaker, let me go to more substantive issues. While I support this, if you look at the report, we are using 2020/2021 audited accounts. In other words, we are three years behind. Article 232 of the Constitution is very clear that it should be the revenue of each financial year. Even though we have the flexibility under Article 203 (3), it should be the last audited accounts. When you are disbursing money to counties three years behind the last financial year, you are basically starving them of money because revenues are projected to continuously grow, so you are not giving them the realistic revenue they should get. I think there is a problem and we need to look at it. I once talked about this here. Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee should figure out what we need to do to have recent audited accounts. If not for that year, it should be for the last year. It should not be three years behind because the figures are different. On delayed disbursements, according to Article 203 (j) of the Constitution, we are supposed to enable county governments to discharge their functions efficiently and effectively. We are not giving the money on time. In other words, how can they plan and implement their projects on time? There is some work we need to do there as the National Assembly. On Own Source Revenue, most governors will be very proud to announce that they have raised a billion. They will be very proud to announce they have increased their Own Source Revenue, but no one ever tells you what that money did. They never tell you. As Parliament, we need to come up with a system where we incentivize improved collection of revenues, and also create accountability as to how that revenue is utilized."},{"id":1504421,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504421/?format=json","text_counter":332,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Soy, UDA","speaker_title":"Hon. David Kiplagat","speaker":null,"content":" On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker."}]}