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{
    "id": 1034107,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1034107/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 331,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Funyula, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Wilberforce Oundo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13331,
        "legal_name": "Wilberforce Ojiambo Oundo",
        "slug": "wilberforce-ojiambo-oundo-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity. Let me take this opportunity to thank the Committee for having done an exposition on the status of the advertised stadia. Secondly, I must also join Kenyans in expressing the disappointment we all felt when we lost the hosting rights for the African Championship of Nations (CHAN) because we could not complete the stadia in good time. During their campaigns, the Jubilee Government went all over the country and told Kenyans that they will build modern stadia all over. It is close to eight years and based on what the Committee’s Report has stated, it was all lies. It was a mirage. It had nothing of substance. It is also disappointing that the whole Government can lie to its people and shamelessly walk around and do nothing about it. I hope that some of the partners in those lies will not come and tell us the same lies in 2022. Issues of incomplete or poorly planned projects and criminal procurement processes are matters that Kenyans must rise up and demand answers for. Reading through this Report, it is a litany of poor procurement processes. It is a list of how what could go wrong, went wrong. Was it specifically designed to fail? It is inconceivable that Sports Kenya could have ignored the State Department for Public Works with the expertise and knowledge that they have. They proceeded to execute such a big project of about Kshs4.4 billion on their own knowing very well that they had no capacity or technical knowledge. It is obvious that all this was designed to swindle public money and enrich a few people. The Committee has not been authoritative enough. I would have expected them to cite the public servants who were involved and label them as unfit to hold public office. I do not know why they were so cagey and afraid to say it as it is. I hope this House will stake its position. At one point or another, we must slay the dragon of corruption in this country. Otherwise, we will never go anywhere. That is why we keep on saying that corruption should be delinked from politics. We need to deal with corruption decisively. That is why I like the recommendation in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Report that states that before the next round of disbursement is made for any project, the Auditor-General must ascertain that actual work worth the amount that was earlier disbursed has been done. Otherwise, we will never fight corruption. I urge the Committee to be firm enough and make specific recommendations so that when this House votes on this Report, we will do so on a report that has substance and that will punish those who conspired and stole Kenyan money. With those few remarks, I support the Report. I hope we will discuss with the Committee and see what can be done to make the Report more actionable and punchy."
}