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{
    "id": 693965,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/693965/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 96,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "There is a stalemate in the budget making process and that stalemate has largely contributed to the Governor being impeached here. The County Assembly in this Charge at page 19 is saying that the Governor has been undermining legislative authority of the County Assembly. The point is that the County Executive Committee Member for Finance has been in constant engagement with the County Assembly on the budget making process. If you look at page 19 of our response and page 20 of Volume II, you will see that all the deadlines which the County Executive Committee Member is required under the PFM to meet were met. All those deadlines were met. But near the end of the process, the County Assembly completely changed the budget. For instance, critical expenditures such as purchase of fuel in the health sector were deleted or reduced. At the end of the day with that massive alteration, it was impossible for the County Executive to prepare an Appropriation Bill. How could you prepare an Appropriation Bill on a budget which you will never implement? That is the reason of the paralysis. To the extent that the budget was altered by the County Assembly in such a grave manner, it can never be implemented. It is like the alteration was done to sabotage the budget making process. That is the view of the CEC Finance who will come here to testify as contained in his letter dated 11th July, 2016. That letter appeared in the form of a memorandum. However, there were concerns which were anchored in Section 131 of the PFM Act by the CEC Finance addressed to the Assembly. He asked the Assembly to consider those issues because if they did not do so, then they would never run the finance of the County. The County Assembly has never responded to that issue. That is why we have a paralysis. If this Appropriation Bill was based on a proper budget, passed and then taken to the Governor for assent and the Governor refused to assent or something like that, then there would be a problem. The entry point for the Governor if you look at PFM is at the point of assenting to the Appropriation Bill. So, what is it that the Governor has done yet his County Executive Committee Member for Finance has engaged the County Assembly on an issue which they have completely refused to consider? That is the real reason why you have that paralysis. We are, therefore saying that the County Governor has not undermined the legislative authority of the County Assembly in any way. If this budget is amended in accordance with the views of the CEC Finance sanctioned under Section 131 of the PFM, then an Appropriation Bill will be prepared by the Executive and taken to the County Assembly. In which case, the Governor will sign it to law after it has been passed. However, that stalemate cannot be unlocked if the County Assembly which has greatly contributed to that issue by altering the budget contrary to the ceilings which have been set by this Senate, then cannot say the Governor has undermined their authority yet they are hugely responsible for the stalemate. They cannot say that. This is an issue which can be resolved just like they have done in the previous financial years. They have discussed this budget and resolved the issues without this acrimony. That is what ought to be done to get out of this stalemate instead of impeaching the Governor. They need to discuss and see how to prepare a proper budget which is based on the law and which also takes on board the views of the County Assembly and the views of the County Executive Committee Member for Finance, a meeting of minds. That is what is needed. Therefore, this charge of saying the Governor has undermined the authority of the County Assembly is a charge that cannot be supported. It is a precipitate action which is taken against the Governor where really it ought not to have been the case. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}