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"id": 1403601,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1403601/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mandago",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13577,
"legal_name": "Kiplagat Jackson Mandago",
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"content": "Thank you. In the budget-making process of Financial Years 2024/2025 by our county governments, the CoB should ensure that all county government budgets for all pending bills have been verified and ascertained because they are due for payment to the suppliers and contractors in counties. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second matter on the Motion is misappropriation of funds, where funds have been requested for payments to particular services or contractors. However, when funds hit the county accounts, they are diverted to pay for other services that had not been requested for and approved by the CoB. In this Motion, the CoB should be asked to ensure that all pending bills subsequently in the new budget are paid before any other funds are disbursed to any county. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, these pending bills have not only killed enterprises, but also employment opportunities that many trained, qualified and able to work young people this country have. The private sector collaborates with Government in creation of employment opportunities. Therefore, county governments can then not become the agents of killing those enterprises and the dreams of young Kenyans. We need also need to address through this Motion, multi-year projects that run in counties. Due to transition, the new administrations, through supplementary budgets, transfer the monies meant for those projects, stalling them, creating pending bills and wastage of public resources because, those facilities are then not completed for purposes they were intended for. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, all projects are subject to public participation and budgeting in their establishment. Therefore, when supplementary budgets are being passed, we ask the CoB to ensure that the funds for ongoing project are not transferred to new projects, causing the old projects to stall, therefore, creating wastage of public resources. In the near future, this House must also address the issue of transitions of county governments. The other day, we were in Nyandarua County accompanying the distinguished Senator for Nyandarua during the County Address. We found a county headquarter that was started more than 10 years ago. It was not completed because the administration that followed decided to abandon it. It is now that the current Governor is completing projects that, otherwise, should have been completed much earlier. This denies the people of Nyandarua services they would have received. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the CoB and her officers must have a keen eye on all supplementary budgets being done by counties, particularly the ones that transfer funds from one project to new projects. The control measures that ensures a project that was not budgeted for should not be introduced in the middle of the financial year, should be enhanced. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}