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"id": 1076177,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ugunja, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Opiyo Wandayi",
"speaker": {
"id": 2960,
"legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
"slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
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"content": " Thank you. Just to continue from where I left last time I started moving this Motion, I want to emphasise that the Public Accounts Committee of the 12th Parliament has made tremendous effort towards ensuring that we are up to date with the Office of the Auditor-General in terms of examination of the reports of that office on financial statements of Ministries, State Departments, Commissions and Independent Offices. The report we are debating now covers 2017/2018 Financial Year, which is indeed the very last complete report that we ever got from the Auditor-General. Of course, we have embarked on examining the Report of the 2018/2019 Financial Year which is still coming. We are still getting reports of that financial year from that office. We are very proud of the fact that we have been able to clear the heavy backlog that we inherited from the 11th Parliament. This has been made possible through the commitment and utmost diligence of the entire membership of that Committee. Many times, the media focuses only on me as the Chair and a few ranking members. There are many other members who contribute immensely in the Committee. If you allow me, I would like to mention their names. That is because there are few Members these days in a committee. We have my very able Vice-Chair, Hon. Jessica Mbalu, Hon. Aden Duale, Hon. Junet Mohamed, Hon. (Dr.) Eseli Simiyu, Hon. Christopher Nakuleu, Hon. Justus Kizito, Hon. (Dr.) Otiende Amollo, Hon. Koske Kimutai, who has since been replaced by Hon. John Waluke, Hon. Michael Mwangi Muchira, Hon. Wilberforce Oundo, Hon. (Dr.) Eve Obara, Hon. Peter Masara, Hon. Michael Kingi, Hon. James Gichuhi Mwangi, Hon. Samuel Gachobe, Hon. (Eng.) Joseph Ngugi Nduati, Hon. (Maj.) (Rtd.) Rashid Sheikh Abdullaih and Hon. Amina Gedow Hassan. These Members have worked tirelessly to ensure that the PAC delivers on its onerous mandate. If this Report is eventually adopted, we shall then be in a position to authorise the Treasury to allocate national revenue that was collected in the Financial Year 2017/2018 equitably between the two levels of government. In this particular financial year, the total revenue that was recorded under various revenue statements as received by the National Assembly amounted to Kshs1.46 trillion. This was a 4 per cent or thereabouts increase against the Kshs1.36 trillion that was realised in the previous year, the 2016/2017 Financial Year. It is my prayer that if the House in its wisdom agrees with us and adopts this Report, the next budgetary process will take into consideration the revenues as reported in the Financial Year 2017/2018. That will, of course, have the effect of taking more money to the counties. As you know, there has been clamour for more money to go to the counties. Even what is currently under consideration through the BBI Bill is all about, if not anything else, taking more money to the counties. So, we are proud that we are able to enhance allocations to counties under the current constitutional and legal regime. If you go through our Report, you will notice that one of the most pragmatic areas in public finance management generally still remains the matter of procurement. The Committee has been able to go through numerous cases of irregularities and, indeed, illegalities in some instances in procurement processes. There were instances where the law was blatantly flouted by the accounting officers. This is in spite of the fact that we have raised this matter time and again in our reports to this House. I will be highlighting a few glaring examples where public officers, specifically accounting officers, engaged in blatant violation of the law, both the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act and the Public Finance Management Act. For instance, I want to talk about the matter at the State Department of ICT. During this financial year that we are reviewing, the case of National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) came to us. This is a project which, of course, was well intended, and I still believe it is well intended even as we speak. It is a project that has cost taxpayers a whooping Kshs21 billion The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}