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{
    "id": 1152541,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1152541/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 84,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "I remember in 2016, after having passed the 30 per cent Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) law. I put an advertisement in the newspaper through the Young Parliamentarian Association which I was chairing then; and I am still the Chairperson. In advertising calling for young people who were interested in understanding how to procure. I thought we would use a small room at the Nairobi Safari Club which we booked. We expected around 200 participants, but there were more than 3000. We had to move the meeting to the University of Nairobi because there were very many interested young people. When you mobilise young people for a political meeting, these ones who came were very different. The young people who came had a lot of hope. They were professionals and had registered business. They all had stories of how they had been trying to do it, but they were not getting opportunities. Apart from that, we had to do other sessions across the country in the counties. I remember holding one in Embakasi Central at the DCs place which is the confluence of Embakasi West, Umoja and Embakasi Central just across Mama Lucy Hospital. The meeting was once more packed and they wanted the information. They were not interested in politics or hand-outs. They did not want to be given money after the meeting, except for the information. I remember going along with the lady who at that time was in charge of the secretariat at the National Treasury. When coming up with the law, we created a secretariat for Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) to assist young people. I may need to introduce this amendment in Third Reading. I realized that secretariat should not be domiciled at the Ministry of Finance at the National Treasury. It should be domiciled in the Ministry in charge of youth and gender issues because that is where there concerned about this people. At the National Treasury, it is just one of many departments that never get prominence and attention. Ideally, that department should be the one conducting these trainings, going around the country calling our young people and women by giving them encouragement by telling them how to fill a tender document, do the technical bit of tender, and fill the financial aspect of it for them to also get these opportunities. I support that provision because it is important In Section 41, there is an amendment which is also important. We have seen many of Government projects even in counties, where somebody does not get the tender, they hold the entire process through a lot of frivolous litigation. This Bill talks about debarments. That the board shall debar a person from participating in procurement or Assets Disposal Proceedings on the ground that the person and what is being inserted is determined by the review board to file a request that is frivolous or vexatious, which was made solely for the purpose of delaying the procurement proceeding for performance of a contract. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I recently asked for the compendium of stalled Government projects. They were amounting to more than a trillion shillings of projects that have stopped because of litigation, diversion of funds and because of many procurement entities or those in charge. Once they have initialized procurement and that is the time at which they get a kick back, they then lose interest in it. They initiate and tell you that someone will give you The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}