MIGORI COUNTY SPEECH BY HON. SEN. DR. WILFRED MACHAGE TO THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY OF MIGORI ON
MARCH 5TH, 2015

Hon. Members,
May I begin my address with the source of our mandate.
Art 1 (1), (2) & (3a) provides as follows:

Article 1(1) “All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with this constitution”. Article 1(2) “The people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives”. Article 1(3) sovereign power under the constitution is delegated to the following state organs:

(a)Parliament and the legislative assemblies in the county governments
(b)The National executive and the executive structures in the county governments; and
(c) The judiciary and independent tribunals.

Article 1(4) sovereign power of the people is exercised at (a) the national and (b) the county level
Article 6(1) the territory of Kenya is divided into the counties specified in the First Schedule. Article 6(2) the governments at the national and county levels are distinct and inter-dependent and shall conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation and cooperation.

Hon. Members,
In Article 96(1)(2)(3)(4) the Senate has been mandated to perform the following functions:
The Senate represents the counties and serves to protect the interests of the counties and their governments
The Senate participates in the law-making function of Parliament by considering , debating and approving Bills concerning counties
The Senate determines the allocation of revenue among counties, as provided in Article 217, and exercises oversight over national revenue allocated to the county governments.
The Senate participates in the oversight of state officers by considering and determining any resolution to remove the President or Deputy from office in accordance with Article 145
The Senate is thus the Defender, overseer and protector of Devolution and Counties. It is the superior organ over the governor and Country authority (and we need not stand on rooftops to declare this).

Honorable Members,

I serve this county by advocating for increased revenue allocation to better serve the needs of the people of this county. In the financial year 2014/15, Migori County was allocated 4.97B. This financial year 2015/16 our county’s allocation has risen to 5.7B.

I am however deeply concerned with the low rate of absorption of these funds for development purposes. In the financial year 2013/14, Migori County’s expenditure on development stood at slightly above 20% of its total allocation. This figure is below the minimum percentage of 30% provided for by the Public Finance Management Act 2012 for development expenditure.

The pertinent question I raise therefore is why are we not utilizing these funds as required by law? Is it that you are sleeping on the job or is the Governor who is?

Honorable Members

The Governor in his speech to this assembly on 10th February 2015 mentioned what his government has done for the county thus far and what he will do in the future.

Education:

It is paramount for us as leaders to raise the literacy levels in this county to greater heights. The award of bursaries, building of Early Childhood education centres, and construction of new polytechnics are all good incentives of realizing this millennium development goal. Why is it that we are still talking of promises to deliver such a basic necessity to the people of the county of Migori?

We need to see fair and just distribution of bursary funds to bright and needy students. The government should hire more ECDE teachers, otherwise who will be teaching in the new classrooms to be built? In addition to raising the number of technical institutions in the county, existing institutions should be fully equipped to provide professional training for the youth of this county.

Health:
The construction and facelifts of medical facilities in the county is laudable. However such initiatives should be fast tracked and given high priority so that our people can enjoy quality, affordable health care.

Just recently, the County suffered a Cholera outbreak. It is indeed unfortunate that in this day and age that we suffer fatalities from such diseases. I want to urge the county government step up on the issue of Health. We should not have a reactive approach rather preventative one in matters of Health.

In his speech the Governor has not mentioned efforts or initiatives that are or will be put in place to alleviate HIV/AIDs and Malaria, two most dangerous diseases that have negatively impacted Nyanza and in particular Migori County.

I would like to see, in addition to the ambitious plans the Governor has, budgetary allocations to support existing structures in the medical field to deal with preventive measures to avoid instances of outbreaks.

A timeline is necessary for the completion of the dispensaries, wards, mortuaries in the various sub-counties so as to avail medical services to the people sooner rather than later.

Agriculture:

We are facing climatic changes that threaten to have millions of people suffer hunger and starvation. Only recently it was reported that 1.6M Kenyans are facing hunger and starvation. We are endowed with resources that if utilized well, our county will have plenty for our people and for economic purposes.

My concern is the procrastination of delivery of agricultural incentives to boost production in the county. In addition, I see misplaced priorities and skewed distribution of available agricultural resources which threatens the advancement of agriculture in Migori County.

Some areas in our County like Nyatike fall under the statistics of 1.6M facing hunger and starvation. It is disheartening to have silos full of maize yet we go hungry. What is the County Government doing to alleviate this situation?

The Sugar industry is ailing. Farmers are not being paid their dues on time and the companies are reeling in debt. The county government should have incentives in place to support our factories like Sony Sugar so as to benefit our farmers.

Why do we have to seek investors to boost livestock production? Are we admitting our incapacity to support local production and processing of meat for consumption within and beyond our county?

The Governor should enhance extension services to the sub-counties so that farmers can be able to get the certified seeds, fertilizers and other services in ample time.
Once again, I say, the measures laid down for implementation are commendable. However if we keep on mark timing on the same spot we shall not be able to deliver as mandated in the Constitution.

Infrastructure:

Better infrastructure will improve movement of people and goods which in turn will lower the cost of production of goods and services and lower prices in general.

I welcome the opening up of unclassified roads in all wards. I urge the county government to speed up the many roads and bridges construction projects that they have initiated. Contractors that are delaying projects should be put on notice and payments be pegged on performance of their contracts.

Forestry and Mining
I want to challenge this House to formulate policies and laws that will safeguard our forests and protect the water catchment areas.

Our County has the potential of developing its mining capabilities like in Macalda. I am yet to hear from the County Government on its way forward in exploiting the mining potential for the benefit of our county.

Honorable Members

We are now 4 years into the New Constitutional Dispensation and 2 years into Devolution. Without Oversight, we risk reversing the gains of devolution or even lose out all the same.

I challenge this assembly to guard devolution through oversight. It is through parliamentary oversight that recent motions to impeach Governors of Embu and Kericho Counties originated.

Oversight is thus one of the corner-stone of Democracy and Democratic Governance. It means holding the executive accountable for their actions. Article 185(3) States that a county assembly, while respecting the principle of the separation of powers, may exercise oversight over the county executive committee and any other county executive organs.

I urge you Honorable members to invoke Article 185(2) and pass laws that ensure effective performance of the functions and exercise of the powers of the County Government under the Fourth Schedule.

Exercise the powers given to you under Article 185(4) to approve plans and policies for management and exploitation of Migori county’s resources and the development and management of its infrastructure and institutions.

In so doing you will be meeting a constitutional obligation imposed by the constitution and specifically the devolution agenda of providing goods and services to the people. The county assembly in this regard must endeavor to reduce the cost of living at the county level as envisaged in Article 43 of the constitution.

Honorable Members
I am aware that all the 47 County Assemblies in Kenya passed their Financial Year 2014/15 Budgets as required by the law. The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) through a circular dated 22nd April, 2014, recommended budget ceilings for County Assemblies and County Executive.The County Assemblies disregarded the said recommendations as advisory.

I am also aware that there was a meeting held between the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), Controller of Budget (COB) and County Assemblies Forum (CAF) after the budgets were passed since the Controller of Budget had refused to allow the County Assemblies access their budget ceilings.

The parties failed to agree on how to unlock the stalemate, CAF through the Speakers of all the 47 County Assemblies went to court seeking inter alia to quash the said circular. However, the High Court dismissed the petition on the prayers to quash the said circular, but the Judge went further and demarcated the boundaries on the roles of the various state organs involved in the budget making process of County Governments i.e Parliament, Controller of Budget, Commission on Revenue Allocation, County Treasury and the County Assemblies, and said that, even though the circular was lawfully issued, the recommendations by Commission on Revenue Allocation on ceilings were only advisory and should only be implemented once Parliament has acted on them through the County Allocation of Revenue Act which did not enact the said ceilings.

It is my understanding that the County Assemblies have requested Controller of Budget to release monies to the County Assemblies in line with their Appropriation Acts but the Controller of Budget still holds the opinion that the Circulars from Commission on Revenue Allocation are binding and they are asking the County Assemblies to renegotiate the ceilings with Commission on Revenue Allocation and then go to Controller of Budget for approval contrary to the opinion of the court.

I want to assure this House that the Senate being the protector of Counties,is doing its level best to compel the Controller of Budget to release monies to the county Governments in line with their Appropriation Act.

I also want to urge the members of this House, to exercise accountability and have development as its main agenda when it comes to expenditure. Operations of most of the County Assemblies need not grind to a halt otherwise oversight will be compromised.

Honorable Members
Corruption, Nepotism, and Tribalism are vices that shouldn’t be allowed to divide us and curtail the process of devolution in this County and the Country at large.

I get deeply disturbed when information and queries are raised concerning improper awarding of Tenders and other financial improprieties within the County Government. Such actions must be nipped at the bud. We might be saying that 22% of the revenue allocation was channeled to development yet it is just development on paper and people’s pockets with no tangible evidence to back such developments.

We are a County with diverse ethnic backgrounds. I expected that such diversity is also portrayed in the staff establishment of the County. It is only in embracing such diversities that we can be able to overcome various ethnic challenges that plague us.

The County Government should channel Most of the resources towards development and not servicing a huge wage bill of an already bloated County government. We must set our priorities right!

Honorable Members

In conclusion, we have an ambitious County Integrated Development Plan that laid down a road map of where we want to be 5 years into Devolution.

Two years down the line, we are still making promises on delivering on the pillars of the CIDP. I urge and challenge the County Government and the County Assembly that it is time to wake up and realize the gains of Devolution.

Thank you and God Bless Migori County