{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=154768","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=154766","results":[{"id":1565862,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565862/?format=json","text_counter":277,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Ogola","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"I rise to support the Report. It talks about the projected revenue collection for the Financial Year 2025/2026. There is a proposed county government equitable share of Kshs409 billion, which represents 14.28 per cent. That in itself is below the constitutional mandate that talks about not less than 15 per cent. Why would we be talking about 14.28 per cent? I support the few speakers who have been on the Floor. The Constitution talks of not less than, which means that the county governments can be given up to 35 per cent or even more. This what a number of us have been talking about. The county governments have constitutional mandates and our people are in dire need of some of these services. That is why I support this Report. The county governments should be given not less than Kshs465 billion for the Financial Year 2025/2026. I want us to refer to some of the functions that the county governments undertake. We have a key component of services in the roads department. We have classification of roads; county roads and national roads. How will the counties open up and make county roads motorable if they are not given adequate funding? I want us to reflect back to our counties. I come from a constituency called Ndhiwa in Homa Bay County. In that constituency, we have one tarmac road that goes through it. It comes from Rodi Kopany to Sori. Basically, we have no roads in that constituency. Part of our hope are roads that are classified as county roads. We pray that those roads will be opened up, murramed and made motorable."},{"id":1565863,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565863/?format=json","text_counter":278,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Ogola","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":1565864,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565864/?format=json","text_counter":279,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"May 21, 2025 SENATE DEBATES 41"},{"id":1565865,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565865/?format=json","text_counter":280,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"We have a road that passes through Ndhiwa Law Courts called Ndhiwa-Gaena- Sidede Road. It is a key road in that constituency and it is in my ward. On that road, one cannot use any means of transport other than going on foot. In my constituency, people carry coffins on their heads because of bad roads, something that people stopped doing over 30 years ago. It is for that reason that we ask for the county governments to be given adequate funds that will help them to open roads, put murram on them and make them motorable. Roads are enablers of our economies. Our people; farmers and business people are struggling. The cost of doing business and transporting farm produce is too high because of lack of accessibility. Other than the roads, the county governments have a mandate on water. We are lucky to have heavy rains in our counties, hence, our people have water courtesy of the rains. However, when we get to the dry season, water becomes a problem where we come from. This is because people in the rural areas depend on boreholes and streams. Unfortunately, most of the streams that our people traditionally relied on as sources of water have dried up due to climate change. So, our people have to look for water beyond the required distances."},{"id":1565866,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565866/?format=json","text_counter":281,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"In my constituency, we had a borehole that was developed by the Lake Victoria South Water Board in Ndhiwa. It broke down a few years ago. Attempts have been made to rehabilitate the water system. Basically, people have no water in that area. Streams have dried up and we do not have boreholes. As a result, our people do not have water. That is why the county governments require adequate funding for it to provide water to our people as provided in Schedule Four. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have the urban water systems and it is important to note that the water infrastructure in the urban centers run by the county water companies are old. Those systems that are aged and dilapidated, yet the county governments do not have sufficient funds to rehabilitate those systems. So, people in our urban centres and municipalities cannot get water consistently because the old systems are consistently breaking down. The population in those towns have also increased and are not commensurate to the systems that are there to provide water. Therefore, we need adequate funding as proposed in this Report that I stand here to support. The other mandate that the county governments have is agriculture. However, there are no extension services as was envisaged in this sector. The farmers are on their own as they prepare their farms. When we were growing up, we had extension service officers who would ride motorbikes across the villages. They prepared our farmers just before the planting season. They advised the farmers on the seeds they could use depending on the region. They would also give advice on the nature of the soil and the best seeds to be used. During the growth of these plants, extension service officers used to move around villages, advising on the progress of crops. However, today, our farmers no longer have access to these services. I am a maize farmer, and just recently while at home, my farm was attacked by armyworms. There was no one to advise me. I was left at the mercy of the rains. My"},{"id":1565867,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565867/?format=json","text_counter":282,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","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":1565868,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565868/?format=json","text_counter":283,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"May 21, 2025 SENATE DEBATES 42"},{"id":1565869,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565869/?format=json","text_counter":284,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"village mates consoled me, assuring me that due to the heavy rains, the armyworms would not survive. Fortunately, just as I was advised, the rains washed the armyworms away from my farm. Were it not for the rains, my farm and all other farms in my area would have been completely destroyed. There is need for county governments to employ extension officers. They should be adequate in number and quality to effectively serve our farmers. Mr. Temporary Speaker, health is also a devolved function. This morning I attended a training session where we were taken through the allocations of this year’s budget per sector. While reviewing the proposed budget, I noted that the allocation for health remains at Kshs136 billion, unchanged from last year. The explanation given is that donor funds are expected. However, you are aware of the challenges surrounding donor funding. With the Trump administration’s cuts, there has been a proposed reduction in donor funds. Recently, we were taken through immunisation financing and realised that, in a few years, we will have to sustain these programmes on our own as a country. These critical services are offered at the county level, and all of this comes down to the availability of resources. Other services that are also critical are urban services, such as storm water drainage. All these require funding. In my own village, Ndhiwa Town, it rained heavily yesterday. Half of the town was filled with water due to storm water drainage challenges. I am highlighting this issue because these are services that must be provided by county governments. Additionally, under urban services, we have street lighting and solid waste management. All these services require money. County governments do not exist at the mercy of anybody. These are governments explicitly outlined in the Constitution. I support this report as presented. The county government’s allocation must increase as years go by. We cannot continue with the same figures because county governments must function and fulfil their responsibilities as provided in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. Even as we request this amount as presented in this report, it is also important to note that most of the functions we are discussing were never properly costed. If we conducted a costing of the functions assigned to the county governments, we might even find that we are short by over Kshs100 billion. Therefore, I support this report. As I conclude my presentation, I want to emphasize that the spirit of devolution requires that county governments to attract the best skills available in the country. It is not necessarily true that people with more skills should only offer services at a higher level. If counties are to attract the high-level skills we require, they must have funds commensurate with the remuneration these skilled labourers need. I pray for a day when the best doctors will be employed at health centres, dispensaries and Level 4 hospitals, where most of our people seek medical care. As they are employed there, they would still receive the higher wages necessary to ensure they can offer services at the lower levels. This is contrary to the tradition where the highest-skilled professionals are placed in high-level hospitals and private hospitals because that is where they receive proper remuneration."},{"id":1565870,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565870/?format=json","text_counter":285,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","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":1565871,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1565871/?format=json","text_counter":286,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"May 21, 2025 SENATE DEBATES 43"}]}