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{
    "id": 1208114,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1208114/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 102,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ugenya, MDG",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": " Thank you so much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. For the last 15 to 20 years, we have spent enormous resources and competences trying to raise the ease of doing business indices. In the last Parliament, for example, we passed the Companies Act, a new succession law and new investment laws. All these are geared towards attracting investments to the country. The paradox is that the investments we are now making in the public sector have become the new Goldenberg scandals. They have become the new corruption fronts. At the advent of devolution in 2013, we saw people who were white and others not so white signing agreements with county governments. If you went to Uasin Gishu County, you would be shown a private investor doing something. I remember there was one investor who went to Homa Bay County to build houses for Ksh2 billion. There were others who went to Kisumu and Busia counties to provide waste management services. Most of these projects ended up as corruption scandals because there is no framework through which the Government can process such ideas. For example, we have an issue with the Yala Swamp in Siaya County. If you are going to give the swamp to the private sector, how do you select the private investor? Is there a system where two or three people can come on board? There are 50,000 acres of prime land. Which companies want to invest in it? How do you choose the best company? How does the public participate in these processes? Do we have a public repository of information from where we can tell investors in aquaculture or the blue economy or in sugar? In the housing project the Government is implementing, if we are not careful, we will end up with a similar problem. In the last three weeks, I have seen several adverts for housing projects. Most of these are public investment projects being done across the country. How I wish this is done when these Regulations are in force. I have seen housing projects being launched in Komarock, Siaya, Homa Bay and other places. Are we ensuring the people we are giving public resources to invest on have the capacity to finish the projects so that they do not become white elephants? It will be important, even as we pass these Regulations, to ensure that this Parliament and the relevant committees keep a tab on all these investments, be they in housing, lands, agriculture or energy. We must follow up and ensure that we get value for money and above all, create jobs and promote transparency. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I support. Thank you."
}