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{
    "id": 1414230,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1414230/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 270,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mwingi Central, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Mulyungi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The NG-CDF has had significant impacts on our communities and on individual lives since its establishment in 2003. Hon. Members can attest that the Fund has helped transform our communities through the development and maintenance of infrastructure projects, especially in schools and other educational facilities, as well as provision of bursaries to needy students. These NG-CDF funded projects have stimulated economic activities in the constituencies by providing employment opportunities during construction and enhancing local infrastructure that supports businesses leading to increased economic growth and prosperity. Improved access to education, on the other hand, has translated to communities to be more empowered leading to better lives. It is indeed an economic stimulus programme which should be cascaded to other development projects. One important aspect of the NG-CDF projects has been the participatory nature of the projects it funds. The NG-CDF often involves community participation in project selection, implementation and monitoring. This has empowered communities to take charge of their development priorities and foster a sense of ownership over the projects leading to sustainable development outcomes unlike other development projects. Oversight over national revenue and expenditure is amongst the roles of the National Assembly as stipulated under Article 95(4)(c) of the Constitution of Kenya. Further, Article 226 of the Constitution provides that an Act of Parliament shall provide for the designation of an accounting officer in every public entity at the national level, who is accountable to the National Assembly for its financial management. In addition, Article 229(8) of the Constitution mandates this House to debate and take appropriate action on audit reports from the Auditor- General. Further, Section 68(1) of the Public Finance Management Act 2012 provides, interalia, that an accounting officer of the national Government entity, Parliamentary Service Commission and the Judiciary shall be accountable to the National Assembly to ensure that the resources of the respective entity for which he or she is accounting officer are used in a way that is lawful, authorised, effective, efficient, economical and transparent. In addition, Section 12(3) of the National Government-Constituencies Development Fund Act No. 30 of 2015 provides that the Fund Account Manager shall hold the authority to incur expenditure of the funds at the constituency. The Fund Account Managers were, therefore, invited to respond to concerns raised by the Committee in their capacity as Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) holders. It is in line with this constitutional and legal provisions that the Committee invited the Fund Account Managers, both current and former, as accounting officers of the NG-CDF to respond to audit queries raised by the Auditor-General during their tenure. The Committee also invited the board of the NG-CDF to respond to policy issues which were also subjected to audit queries. Information received formed the basis for the various recommendations outlined in this Report which are geared towards effective management of the Fund. While examining the audited accounts for Vihiga, Sabatia, Hamisi, Emuhaya and Luanda constituencies in Vihiga County, the Committee observed that in the Financial Year 2013/2014, all the constituencies examined at audit issues raised following the High Court of Kenya ruling on Petition No.71 of 2013 which held that establishing the National Government- Constituencies Development Fund 2013, since enactment of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, was unconstitutional. The Committee further observed that the issue was overtaken by events as it was addressed and raised through the passing of the NG-CDF Act 2015 and its regulations in 2016, which aligned the Fund functions to national Government functions. The functions were further aligned by the enactment of the NG-CDF Act, 2023, recently passed by this honourable House. The Committee also observed in all the constituencies the Auditor-General had raised issues on under expenditure or non-implementation of projects due to late receipt of funds in the constituencies. The Committee observed that this was beyond the capacity of the fund 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"
}