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{
    "id": 1241232,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1241232/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 306,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "have not received serious Exchequer receipts to the extent of balancing that out becoming very difficult. For instance, right now we are aware that money has not been disbursed to counties since March, April and May and yet we are now going to the next financial year. In such a case, availability of funds is a problem. Then if you put a punitive Bill on people who do not have control of this, it becomes a problem. Madam Temporary Speaker, secondly, this Bill proposes interest rates to be increased on pending bills for these suppliers. You see, for every action, there is a reaction. When you impose something like interest rates on bills that have not been paid, then you are actually increasing bills for that particular Government or procuring entity. For instance, if a particular entity owes a particular service provider “X” and then you impose that interest rate on them for that late payment, which sometimes is out of their control for reasons I have explained like availability of funds, then, it means that that particular interest becomes another pending bill. That is something that we must seriously consider. The moment you bring about expansive levels of interest in things like pending payments, then the Bill ought to have actually thought about how do you fund that interest? The Bill should also have thought about, how then do you report on that interest? When you look at how interest is done, definitely, you will want the same officer that you are trying to hold accountable at the end of every financial year to do a different report on the interest rates. Do they do this report to the Central Bank of Kenya or do they do it to the National Treasury. This makes it problematic. Further, if you are to be more adventurous in strict financial terms, you will also go and look at whether this interest is to be compounded or is it going to be simple interest. Then things become just complicated when you think about expanding that issue of interest. That makes it very difficult for me to support the Bill. Madam Temporary Speaker, additionally, if you are going to impose something like interest on payment that counties or even the national Government is not doing because of other issues like delayed funds, then it goes without saying that you must put an equal equation to the other side, whereby if there is an accelerated payment to a particular service provider, then does it mean that that service provider has to discount the county or the national entity? That must be considered including the kind of interest that is proposed by this Bill. Madam Temporary Speaker, I also think that the proposed penalties and offenses in Clause 7 of the Bill to the accounting officers is a little bit exorbitant. This is because of the reason that I had said that if the Exchequer does not guarantee availability of funds, then it goes without saying that any accounting officer will also not have control on availability of those funds. Then, how do you account for that lack of control when an accounting officer does not have control on availability? Then, you punish them based on timelines and not on availability of funds. That becomes extremely problematic. We have seen it. The Public Finance Management (PFM) Act and the County Government Act establish the County Treasury in counties. The head of that treasury is actually supposed"
}