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{
    "id": 1050032,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1050032/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Shiyonga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13181,
        "legal_name": "Masitsa Naomi Shiyonga",
        "slug": "masitsa-naomi-shiyonga"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to support the Motion on the Adoption of Reports of the Sessional Committee on County Public Accounts and Investments (CPAIC) on Audit Reports for County Executives for Financial Years 2015/2016, 2016/2017, And 2017/2018 (Volumes i, ii and iii). This report has revealed the corruption that we have been talking about as a country. I support the recommendations that have been proposed by the CPAIC. The 23rd recommendation that has been proposed by the Committee states that there are many unsupported expenditures relating to scholarships and other education benefits. It is clear that there is lack of a clear framework in the counties. This is the eighth year of the existence of counties, but there are many unpleasant things. There is need for education officers or the CECs in charge of finance to ensure that bursaries or any grants that are allocated to counties are properly managed. It has been alleged that some CECs collude with governors or county officials to double fund or take money that is meant to support needy students. Madam Temporary Speaker, the report also speaks to a series of county finance offices being burnt down. That could only mean that there is something fishy going on in the county finance departments and someone wants to evade audit. It is important for all the counties to account for all the funds that they have been allocated up to the last shilling. County officials in charge of finance should not resort to burning offices after they have mismanaged the funds that are allocated to counties. Burning of offices to evade accountability is illegal; it is arson. Counties need to back up their data, so that even when essential offices such as finance departments are burnt, there will be back up for all the data that may be lost in the fire. The issue of pending bills is bringing counties down. Governors should not engage their counties in unnecessary pending bills. Counties are supposed to match their expenditure to their demands. The expenditure of the counties should also match their funding so that they do not go overboard with their expenditure, leaving behind pending bills. It is very difficult for incumbent governors to take up pending bills because out- going governors leave them with unanswered questions. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is important for counties to do proper book keeping. Books of accounting are not kept well in the counties as the report has clearly shown. Auditing becomes very difficult when there are no proper documents to refer. I urge any able governor to ensure that they have professional accountants who can save documents in soft, vis-à-vis hard copies, for purposes of proper bookkeeping. We are in the e-era so any able governor should have accounting officers who can embrace electronic bookkeeping. When Hon. Charity Ngilu, the Governor of Kitui County was the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, she reorganized record keeping in that Ministry by 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."
}