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{
    "id": 1276806,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1276806/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 112,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Saku, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ali Raso",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Wamboka and his Committee for this Report. To start with, the purpose or work of the National Assembly under Article 95(3) is oversight. This is just the beginning, particularly for you in the Opposition. It is to oversee the Government. I really thank you for that. The statutes that establish State corporations like the State Corporations Act Cap 446 and the Companies Act Cap 486 are very clear. For that reason, there is no ambiguity in how State corporations should function under the laws of Kenya. Kenya has over 360 State corporations, whether they are financial institutions, universities, training and research bodies, service institutions, regional development authorities or tertiary education and training. All those are different categories. What must come to light and we need to take cognisance of as Members of this august House, is the purpose of a State corporation once it is established. The statutes clearly say that it is to conduct lawful, ethical, profitable and sustainable business to create value over the long-term. What this Committee must be telling us about their various excursions and visits to different State corporations is if they are staying on that red line and their mandate. When we look at State corporations, the Kenya Airways is an example. For many years, Kenya Airways was profitable, robust and the face of air travel in Africa, but over the last one decade, it has been on a deathbed. We have been supporting it through the National Treasury. For the last two Parliaments, in which I served, we funded Kenya Airways. What this Committee must do is to extend its tentacles to find out the money guzzlers that are eating from the National Treasury. For all intent and purpose, State corporations should make their money, employ the right number of people and by extension provide competitive services so that Kenyan consumers are not unfairly disadvantaged or exploited. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the word cash-cow came about when we started talking about State corporations. Today, everybody in the Civil Service looks forward to working in a State corporation. They pay more money, they pay allowances, and you can travel around the world, but at the end of the day you remain a civil servant. Another person, a worker in the field in the Kenya Civil Service feels disadvantaged because those in State corporations enjoy state largesse at the expense of the Kenyan taxpayer. For that reason, when we ask if there is value for money in a particular State corporation, we are asking if they are able to meet their basic needs without resorting to public coffers. The majority of them, maybe 300 or 330, basically depend on State coffers. Are there State corporations that should be wound up? Why would a State corporation established for 200 personnel or human capital be manned by 30 or 20, or 10 people? It simply means that it is not serving the purpose for which it was formed in the first place. Members who spoke before me talked about the face of Kenya. Within the State corporations there is somebody called the Inspector-General. What this House must mandate that individual to do annually or bi-annually is to report to this House when a particular State 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."
}