{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155174","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155172","results":[{"id":1569922,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569922/?format=json","text_counter":134,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"There is also the high cost of public debt. This is largely due to a relatively stable, but still high exchange rate to the dollar, as well as high interest rates in the domestic markets. Public debt services in 2025/2026 will account for about 52 per cent of ordinary revenue, which is higher than the average of 41 per cent over the period from 2016/ 2017 to 2024/2025. So, we are going up in terms of percentage of our ordinary revenue that goes towards settling the public debt or servicing public debt. What strategies is the Ministry taking to manage county government funding constraints? The national Government through National Treasury is managing funding constraints to county governments using a variety of strategies. By utilizing these strategies in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the National Treasury has, therefore, been able to effectively manage funding for county governments and support efforts to deliver essential services and promote development despite the prevailing fiscal constraints due to expenditure pressures and public debt commitments as shown above. The strategies enumerated below aim to ensure that county governments have the financial resources they need to fulfill their responsibilities and deliver services to Kenyan citizens. One is the conditional and unconditional allocations to counties. We have continued to give additional allocations to counties, which are earmarked for specific programmes or projects as defined by the national Government. They provide targeted funding for special policy goals or initiatives. These additional allocations can ensure that certain areas are prioritized and that funding is allocated in a way that aligns with the national priorities. However, the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill has always been passed by Parliament late towards the close of financial year, thereby denying counties additional funding for programmes under national priorities such as, County Aggregation Industrial Parks (CAIPs) and Community Health Promoters (CHPs). Currently, we have a problem even absorbing this year's county additional allocations, because of how long it took between the two Houses to agree. So, promoting local revenue generation in the form of own-source revenue, again here the National Treasury has been empowering county governments to generate their own revenue through taxation and other means. This is meant to increase the autonomy and fiscal sustainability of county governments to obliviate the risks associated with over-reliance on equitable share to fund essential services. The National Treasury has finalized the development and piloting of own-source revenue forecasting tools for counties to help them expand their revenue base, thus allowing them to implement realistic charges, levies and fees geared towards raising more revenues. It is expected that this own-source revenue system generation will strengthen county governments’ autonomy and promote fiscal sustainability. Number three is promoting transparency and accountable financial management. The National Treasury is committed to ensuring that funding in counties is used effectively and efficiently, so that county governments are accountable for the use of public funds. The National Treasury, therefore, urges counties to adhere to the clear guidelines for the allocation and use of funds through promoting transparency by making financial information readily available to the public as is the norm at the National Treasury. I hope this House will help in realizing this. 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":1569923,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569923/?format=json","text_counter":135,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"The other one is implementing strong monitoring and evaluation systems else and finally building partnerships with county governments. The National Treasury and Economic Planning has continued to foster collaboration between the national Government and county governments to improve service delivery and promote development. The Office of the Cabinet Secretary continues to engage in regular dialogue with the Council of Governors (CoG) through regular meetings and forums to discuss policy issues and share best practices. Some of these forums are even informal and we have a very good working relations with the CoG led by the Chairperson, who is also my professional colleague. Further, the National Treasury continues to support collaborative project financing through joint projects between the national Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and county governments such as CAIPs and CHPs, among others. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to thank you once again for this opportunity to engage with you together with the honourable members. Thank you."},{"id":1569924,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569924/?format=json","text_counter":136,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Kingi","speaker_title":"The Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Sen. Chute, please proceed."},{"id":1569925,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569925/?format=json","text_counter":137,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Chute","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to know from the Cabinet Secretary what interventions the Ministry is implementing with regards to pending bills, where you will find one pending bill that has been passed by the county assembly and then the governor has his own list, this comes to Controller of Budget (CoB) and the governor's list will be paid when the one that has been passed by the county assembly is yet to be paid. Secondly, is on the issue of diversion of funds. When a contractor or a supplier is supposed to be paid by the county government and the money is requisitioned for from CoB and at the end of the day that money goes to a different contractor, not the contractor or supplier who was requisitioned for. How will the Ministry deal with this matter? Thank you."},{"id":1569926,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569926/?format=json","text_counter":138,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Kingi","speaker_title":"The Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Hon. CS, please proceed."},{"id":1569927,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569927/?format=json","text_counter":139,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning"},{"id":1569928,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569928/?format=json","text_counter":140,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Hon. John Mbadi): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The two questions are linked together, and are very related, where you find that the requisition is made through the normal system, through the CoB and yet the payment is paid to another contractor or to pay another bill. This is a problem that is very pronounced in counties from what I gather and we are working on a tool or a system that will be used by both the national Government and the county governments to ensure that what has been approved is actually what is paid for. It will also ensure that bills are prioritized in terms of first in, first out because, again, there is a lot of favouritism and discretion by decision-makers at the counties and at the national government level. However, even as we do that, the CoB has capacity and tools to ensure that their approval is respected, so that they rein in county governments. The Auditor-General can also be taking the approval from the CoB and use it to audit the actual expenditure. I also want to ask this august House, the Senate, that this is also an area where you can help. I know you have helped before, but I think you can help more by ensuring that it is not even micromanaged, by ensuring that what has been 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":1569929,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569929/?format=json","text_counter":141,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"approved is what is actually paid. These cases are too much. They are reported, we live in this country and we hear about them. Nothing seems to be happening to stop this, which I call illegal diversion of funds. If the CoB has approved money to be spent in a particular manner, that is how it should be spent. It should not be spent in a different manner. At the National Treasury, we are working on a system that will ensure that payments are made in line with the approval. As that is being done, we can still use the current system and supervision to help deal with some of these challenges."},{"id":1569930,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569930/?format=json","text_counter":142,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Kingi","speaker_title":"The Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Sen. Osotsi, please proceed."},{"id":1569931,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569931/?format=json","text_counter":143,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Osotsi","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir. Let me start by congratulating the CS for the good work he is doing at the National Treasury and Economic Planning. Indeed, you are the expert that we have been talking about. I have two quick questions. One is that the CS has talked about constraints in disbursing monies to the counties. I would like to make reference to the Disbursement Schedule we passed last week to disburse money and additional allocation to the counties. Maybe you can elaborate to this House what constraints you are facing. I spoke to my governor yesterday and he told me that although we passed some monies, that money has not hit their account. Instead, there was a communication from the National Treasury about the further delay."}]}