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{
    "id": 1370666,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1370666/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 237,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "been informed that it has been established by the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), to validate assets and liabilities inherited from the defunct local authorities. IBEC is expected to report back between January and March, 2024. When the report is ready, we shall bring it. Madam Temporary Speaker, the Senate, through the County Allocation of Revenue Act, has over the years increased budgetary ceilings to county assemblies. It is way above the recommended seven per cent threshold under the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2012. In some cases, assemblies have received as much as 16 per cent of a county’s revenue. One example is Kirinyaga County. On the other hand, some assemblies such as Mombasa County, still receive less than seven per cent. The Committee also recommends the fast-tracking of legislative and administrative measures that will afford county assemblies financial autonomy. I know that amendment has been read the first time, so that we can give most of the county assemblies financial autonomy in their work. Point No.12 which is a concern of the country is that pending bills continue to be a financial burden for most county governments. During the first quarter of the Third Session, the Committee shall convene a meeting with relevant entities; office of the Auditor-General, the Controller of Budget (CoB), Council of Governors (CoG), the National Treasury and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to define actionable measures to ensure the integrity and completeness of accounts payable across the counties which continue and pending bills continue to affect most of the counties. During the interrogation of the Auditor-General’s Reports, we noticed non- remittance of pension deductions to the relevant pension schemes. The total outstanding pension liabilities accrued as submitted by the CoB indicates a total of whooping Kshs85 billion as at 31st March, 2023 that has not been remitted to the relevant pension schemes. On human resource management issues affecting the 47 counties, the Committee observed that the Secretary to the County Public Service Board (CPSB), by qualification, must be a Certified Secretary and not a certified Human Resource practitioner. The Committee observed that there is a lacuna in the law. The Committee noted that whereas there are strict requirements in managing financial resources in the counties, there is a leisurely approach in managing human resources. It was observed that the qualifications or requirements for those responsible for managing human resources were not as stringently spelt out compared to those managing financial resources. Therefore, we shall bring an amendment to that. In conclusion, I wish to thank the Members of the Committee, the dedicated secretariat and your office, who usually sit for long hours to ensure we reduce the backlog of audit reports. This is one of the committees where you can sit the whole day running and grappling with numbers. We are working hard to reduce the backlog of audit reports. The Committee will use various strategies, including sub-committees and the merger of financial years to shift to a more proactive mandate and to ensure the Senate is current in its interventions."
}