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{
    "id": 1527708,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1527708/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 112,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to also share some thoughts on this BPS for this year. I will start my comment today by looking at Chapter 15 of our Constitution. This Chapter is dedicated to commissions and independent offices. It states as follows- “248. (1) This Chapter applies to the commissions specified in clause (2) and the independent offices specified in clause (3), except to the extent that this Constitution provides otherwise.” It then goes ahead and lists all the independent commissions that we must have. Additionally, to Chapter 248 of the Kenyan Constitution, we are provoked as a country to think about the objects and authority and further on the funding of these commissions; the independent offices that we have established as a country. There is a reason for these independent institutions. Prior to 2010, it was very difficult to predict, arrest, deter and eliminate graft in the country. All the commissions are structured to be independent to the extent that you can stop graft in the country. However, this House since inception in 2013 has done disservice to Article 249 (3) of the Constitution. It states that as follow- “Parliament shall allocate adequate funds to enable each commission and independent offices to perform its function and the budget of each commission and independent offices shall be a separate vote. This means that while in the mind of our colleagues in the National Assembly the Senate is not supposed to participate in the budget-making process in terms of active allocation and strong Money Bills that come out of this House, this Article of the Constitution makes it mandatory for the Senate to indeed participate in this process. I congratulate this committee because for the first time all the commissioners were invited as partners to submit and give their eye-bird’s point of view position on the challenges they are facing in the budget-making process. I am highlting this because the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning who used to be my party chairman, disparaged this committee by not showing up to listen to the committee’s asks. Our concerns were on the budget-making process and the BPS that is going to be a crux of what is going to inform the Finance Bill that will come in the next few coming months. It is so wrong for my former chairman of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party and the current Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, Hon. John Mbadi, not to pay attention to this House’s asks to contribute to the budget-making process. This is so bad. In the submissions made by the Controller of Budget (CoB), one of the biggest problems that we have been struggling with as a House that is supposed to do oversight on counties is the issue of automation of processes of requisition of money going to our counties. This is how this process works. That is why if you look at this report, the committee has recommended significantly marginal increase on the money that is being given to these commissions. 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."
}