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{
    "id": 1127092,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1127092/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 571,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kisumu East, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Shakeel Shabbir",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 140,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
        "slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
    },
    "content": "The first thing we want to raise in respect of the LAPF is to ensure that it has the first charge on assets. As a member of City Hall or county staff, I was making my pension deductions but the local authority never transmitted those contributions to the LAPF. When I retire, I will go to the LAPF and demand my pension. The LAPF will not manage to pay the pension because it will say that the pensions were never remitted to it. Unfortunately, that is the situation we found the LAPF in. The remittances from the local authorities had not been paid. One of the problems we had, and which we were looking at and trying to solve when we were auditing the LAPF, is what is due to who and by whom? The LAPF came and told us they are owed so much money by Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi. Our Committee felt that it was very important that, apart from looking at the audit, the comments and whatever, we facilitate some of these issues. I remember proposals had been made but not honoured. The City of Kisumu or the County of Kisumu had made proposals but did not honour them. I am specifically bearing on Kisumu because I know about Kisumu. There are issues about Nairobi and Mombasa but I do not want to bear upon them. It was then decided by the Committee that the Fund continues diversifying its investment portfolio in the country’s Big Four Agenda and bring out affordable housing but they could not have the affordable housing. The Committee also suggested that Kisumu County Council pays an amount of Kshs11.9 million within three months of the Report. They had agreed to pay it. They had given over their debts swap. Although it was not our mandate, as SFAC, we had to look at the audit reports. The Committee was able to put it to the parties that before finalisation of the audit, these things would have to happen. The audit report even says that certain amounts of money have to be paid but the payee refused to pay. What are we going to do? Our job as SFAC was not to just look at the audit comments but to also zero in on the audit comments and ask why this or that had not been done and whether it had been resolved. If it had not been resolved, we passed it on for further action. That aspect was looked at by our Committee and we said that we should be facilitators to make sure that before we pass these accounts, we insist that the County Government of Kisumu, for argument’s sake and this one case, must honour its debt. If it does not honour its debt, we shall send an adverse Report through the House, which we are doing now. We are saying that if the County Council of Kisumu does not honour that debt of Kshs11, 979,000, which LAPF requires in order to process the development of the housing units, the Committee will recommend to the House that further action be taken against the County Government of Kisumu. That is it about that specific asset in LAPF. As far as the Unclaimed Assets Trust Fund is concerned, the Committee also recommends that the Fund expedites the process of engagement with MPs to increase the reunification rule. The Committee found out that Kshs25 billion worth of assets is being held by the Fund. Only Kshs34 million had been settled. We were wondering what the Unclaimed Assets Trust Fund is meant to do. The Unclaimed Assets Trust Fund is supposed to say when the Fund has unclaimed assets. One of the responsibilities of the Fund is to try and determine the rightful owners of those funds. If you are looking at Kshs25 billion of assets and you have only been able to identify owners of Kshs34 million, then you are failing in your duty. What extra steps are you taking to find out who owns these unclaimed assets? We noted that there must be a time-frame for these unclaimed assets to be claimed. They cannot just sit in a bank account. There are certain countries such as Singapore that use assets that have been unclaimed for more than 10 years to develop programmes that citizens can benefit from. On the Land Settlement Fund, it was observed that there are land loans of Kshs6.9 million and development loans of Kshs70 million to settlers from 1962 that remain outstanding to date. I am wondering what the Land Settlement Fund has been doing from 1962 up to now. That was 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."
}