{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=153248","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=153246","results":[{"id":1550662,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550662/?format=json","text_counter":593,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Nominated, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Irene Mayaka","speaker":null,"content":"When discussing own-source revenue, I will give an example of a county that stood out under the leadership of the now Chair of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Nderitu Mureithi, when he was the Governor of Laikipia. During his tenure, Governor Mureithi significantly increased Laikipia County’s own-source revenue, setting an example for other counties. I have seen other counties also doing a pretty good job of trying to improve their own source revenue. But what Governor Nderitu, who is a well-renowned economist, did is that he ensured that 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":1550663,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550663/?format=json","text_counter":594,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Nominated, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Irene Mayaka","speaker":null,"content":"there is consistency in growth. This is one of the things that we really need to encourage counties. Counties can benchmark against each other. They do not have to check what other people are doing in other countries. There are counties with success stories in terms of revenue collection. If we do not deal with this issue, we will continue to have counties that are a cost centre. A cost centre is an organisation that is not making any money. They will continue consuming money in terms of having a bigger allocation for pending bills rather than doing any real development. We keep discussing this issue, but we will need to review how we do things at some point. The second issue is underperformance in revenue collection. This is caused by corruption, spillage of revenue and the fact that most counties have not fully transitioned to the paperless system. When we continue using non-automated revenue systems, it is a source of revenue spillage. Some counties, like my home county of Nyamira, have barriers erected on the road where someone collects money and issues receipts. In this day and age, we should not have that in this country. That results in corruption and revenue spillage, making our counties look like they are not progressive. Another issue the Committee raised is audit. The CRA and CoG partially premised their calculation on the Fourth Revenue Sharing Basis, which is a fantastic formula. But this Parliament has not approved the Basis for use. When you partially base revenue sharing on a formula that has not been officially approved, it creates gaps and audit issues. You have to provide justification for it. This is an issue that we need to look into. We need to understand why the CRA chose to do this so that we do the right thing. I have also noted that we are still using audited and approved revenue based on the 2020/2021 Financial Year. Macroeconomic and microeconomic issues are extremely dynamic. We cannot base revenue sharing on past papers. It is like revising past papers. The crypto currency market is now using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to review markets across the country. It is an extremely fast process, yet we are using the 2020/2021 Financial Year accounts to make decisions that affect the country at this particular moment. We have had conversations about the Equalisation Fund. I agree with Members who have talked about areas that have been largely marginalised, but let us remember that many Kenyans feel marginalised. It has nothing to do with the fact that a place like Nyamira feels very green. There are people in Nyamira who have never seen a good road or electricity and continue to grapple with livelihoods that are not up to date. There are people in Nairobi who live in slums and continue to feel marginalised. Equalisation is a very sensitive matter across the country. It can be likened to the phrase that the same boiling water that softens a potato hardens an egg. There are people who still believe that they are marginalised. Pending bills have made counties become cost centres. Nowadays, money does not spread enough within counties. People do not have money. We need to burn the midnight oil to be up to date with audited and approved accounts. It is incumbent upon us to do the best for the people of Kenya because that is the job they have given us. With those many remarks, I submit and support the Bill. I thank you."},{"id":1550664,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550664/?format=json","text_counter":595,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Peter Kaluma","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":{"id":1565,"legal_name":"George Peter Opondo Kaluma","slug":"george-peter-opondo-kaluma"},"content":" Hon. Mark Mwenje."},{"id":1550665,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550665/?format=json","text_counter":596,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Embakasi West, JP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mark Mwenje","speaker":{"id":1429,"legal_name":"George Theuri","slug":"george-theuri"},"content":" Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Allow me to congratulate the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee for the good job that he is doing. I believe and trust that Hon. Atandi is up to the task. I worked with him in a private capacity before I came to this House. He knows finance matters, and he will do a good job. I do not want to say much regarding the issue. We seem to get into problems with our counterparts in the Senate on the Division of Revenue Bill, year in and year out. Everyone needs to understand that resources are scarce. This is what is available. Our revenue projections always fall short. I do not want to anticipate debate, but based on what has happened before, I 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":1550666,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550666/?format=json","text_counter":597,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Embakasi West, JP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mark Mwenje","speaker":{"id":1429,"legal_name":"George Theuri","slug":"george-theuri"},"content":"expect that the Senators will give us a figure of about Ksh420 billion or Ksh425 billion. They will target an increase of about Ksh15 billion to Ksh20 billion. We have seen that trend in the last two years. Ksh405 billion has been shared each year with our counties from the onset of devolution. If you were to share this money equally amongst our constituencies, each would receive about Ksh1.3 billion. Nairobi County receives the largest share, which is over Ksh20 billion. We need to show Kenyans what this money is doing. We can show Kenyans what the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) has done. We can also show them the roads constructed by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). Pending bills are killing the economy of Nairobi. With regard to roads in Nairobi, if you compare what was done by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) a couple of years back to what we have today, you can see the problem. It is not because we are not allocating funds to the counties. Disbursements to county governments are usually delayed by a month or two. With regard to the NG-CDF, we sometimes experience delays of up to seven or eight months. The county governments are usually up to date with their disbursements. Our governors need to utilise the funds that we send to the counties. They should utilise their share of funds from the national revenue and do projects in the counties. They should clear the pending bills, so that contractors can go back to work and do what is required by Kenyans. We need to talk about this issue more frequently. The national Government and the county governments each receive their share of revenue. We must ensure that they do their jobs. Senators have a responsibility to oversee the funds allocated to the counties instead of fighting the National Assembly. They should ensure that this money is working for the people. There is also the issue of the Equalisation Fund when it comes to marginalisation. The Member for Mandera raised this issue. Marginalisation is everywhere. A slum dweller in Nairobi can go to bed hungry. However, you cannot sleep hungry in Murang'a, where my forefathers came from. You can walk into a farm, get some maise and roast it. However, you can go to bed hungry in Nairobi. You can live in a slum where raw sewage just flows outside your House. I have a problem with the definition of the term \"marginalisation\" and how the Equalisation Fund is utilised. I understand that there were some counties that were quite far behind. However, we are at an age where we must consider every person, regardless of which county they come from. It is true that there are people who live well in Nairobi City County. There are good roads, but they are in certain areas. If I take you to Mukuru kwa Njenga or some of the slums in Eastlands, you will see how people live in abject poverty. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as Members of Parliament from Nairobi City County, we sat down and asked the President to take him around. We took him to Mathare and other areas he had never been to. We took him to Ruaraka, Embakasi and Kibra. He walked and saw people living in deplorable conditions. It is the reason - and I must commend the Government for doing it - they allowed us to build more classrooms in Nairobi City County than other areas because they can only go vertical; they must go up. I have a school called Super Loaf whose Grade One classroom has 207 students. They are in one classroom. When we took the President to some of these schools, he only stood at the front. He could not move to greet the students because our classrooms are congested. Rural-urban migration is real. You must realise that we live in a county where our population is ever- increasing. Our fathers went to schools in rural areas. However, we are here, and our children are being educated here. Most Members here have now brought their children to Nairobi. With those few remarks, I support the Bill. We have a lot of work. I believe the Chairman, Hon. Atandi, is up to the task. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."},{"id":1550667,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550667/?format=json","text_counter":598,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Hon. George Sunkuyia spoke off the record)"},{"id":1550668,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550668/?format=json","text_counter":599,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Embakasi West, JP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mark Mwenje","speaker":{"id":1429,"legal_name":"George Theuri","slug":"george-theuri"},"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":1550669,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550669/?format=json","text_counter":600,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Peter Kaluma","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":{"id":1565,"legal_name":"George Peter Opondo Kaluma","slug":"george-peter-opondo-kaluma"},"content":" What is the matter, Hon. George Sunkuyia? Do you want to contribute?"},{"id":1550670,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550670/?format=json","text_counter":601,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kajiado West, UDA","speaker_title":"Hon. George Sunkuyia","speaker":null,"content":" Yes, Hon. Temporary Speaker."},{"id":1550671,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550671/?format=json","text_counter":602,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Peter Kaluma","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":{"id":1565,"legal_name":"George Peter Opondo Kaluma","slug":"george-peter-opondo-kaluma"},"content":" Proceed."}]}