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{
    "id": 1145009,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1145009/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 208,
    "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. As we have always said, the source of corruption is normally at the budgeting level. That is where the money to be stolen is normally inserted. Most importantly, corruption is initiated at the tendering stage; the so called procurement stage. This country has made a lot of progress in terms of reviewing and underlining the procurement laws and regulations with the changing circumstances and with the changing international practices. As we have always said, a good idea must always give way to a better idea. Any time there is an opportunity to review legislation, that opportunity should be embraced so that we keep on aligning our laws and bring them to reality in respect of the feedback we receive from practice and from all over the world. When I was elected as a Member of Parliament and got involved in overseeing the CDF, a few shocks were evident. That is why some of the amendments being proposed here are critical and extremely progressive. The first shock of my life was that many of the people, the so called the local mwananchi, could not participate in the procurement process because the definition of an entity to participate in a procurement process was very clear and excluded quite a number of recognised groups in the villages. It became difficult and impossible for many groups to participate in the procurement process and it became impossible for local contractors who could not meet certain standards to participate in any procurement process. That is why the inclusion of a proper redefinition of local contractors under Clause 2 of this Bill is timely and it is a progressive idea. Not many of our local contractors can have all the documents of a company that would be listed in the Nairobi Stock exchange. So, a redefinition to allow for small groups, for companies registered in the Companies Act or under any other written law and whose operations is based in Kenya, is a big relief for the local contractors and upcoming businessmen in our local areas. The second most important amendment that is being proposed in this particular Bill, in my opinion, is the issue canvassed under Clause 15; that now allows a procurement officer or a procurement entity to undertake market survey. Sometimes back, we used to have an arrangement called ‘the engineers estimate’ that used to be the benchmark for evaluation and decision making. For some strange reason, that particular approach was deleted from the procurement processes and that is why you find, many at times, many goods and services are procured at inflated prices. We believe that with the return of the market survey in the procurement process, we will put a stop to the exorbitant pricing of goods and services which are basically geared at lining pockets of corrupt public officials always involved in the procurement process. As my colleagues have indicated, national Government and county government projects are actually being executed almost double the cost of the NG-CDF projects. Many are times you are at a loss to explain to a local contractor why an ECDE classroom procured by the Busia County 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."
}