Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1545928,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545928/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 31,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "million would probably sink eight wells. However, they paid that for insurance and the vehicles are not moving. That is in the report. Nairobi City County spends Kshs146 million to pay salaries for former Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) staff after expiry of their contract. Further, Kilifi County paid Kshs71.5 million to legal firms without proper authorization. Kilifi County went ahead and paid Kshs13.1 million for upgrade of Shanzu Law Courts yet county governments are separate and independent. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, why would you spend that on the law court? Wajir County spends Kshs25.9 million on classrooms in primary and secondary schools yet our brothers and sisters in the National Assembly have money for building those classrooms through the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). All that put together, the counties, the country and the citizens of Kenya have lost Kshs 39 billion. The number could have been higher if the PBO had quantified the issue of bursaries, which counties continue to give out, yet it is a function that should be domiciled at the national Government. The Auditor-General has flagged Kshs49.7 billion, expenditure that cannot be justified. She has been in the county for six months, but the entities cannot provide supporting documentation. Some of them attempt to carry cartons of records, invoices and vouchers to the Senate. We have taken the position that if you could not justify the expenditure when the auditor is on the ground, then my committee and my colleagues are not auditors. We will not accept some of those things because some of them are cooked. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, other examples of unsupported expenditure include Mandera County which spends Kshs148 million to purchase pharmaceuticals and yet they cannot provide the supporting evidence. I thought that was the easiest thing to do. If you purchase pharmaceuticals, be it from KEMSA or MEDS, the documentary trail is there. Therefore, when the auditor comes, you should provide it to them. Mandera County spends Kshs45 million on legal fees without providing justification or providing the reasons for that. Kilifi County spends Kshs888 million without supporting documentation. Marsabit County used Kshs599 million and Uasin Gishu used Kshs414 million, respectively without supporting documentation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let us call it what it is; that is theft. If the records cannot be found when the Auditor-General is on the ground, six months later, this House sanitizes theft and crooked behaviour in counties. We have brought a report to the House saying that this is unacceptable and action must be taken. There is also loss of money through unbudgeted expenditure. Budgets are sacred documents because it is a commitment between the governors and the people they govern. It is supposed to be exercised through the county assembly. Nairobi City County spent Kshs13 billion without a budget. Kshs13 billion and you know, you ask yourself, where would the assembly be if there is such a huge budget variation? A figure of Kshs13 billion is probably 30 per cent of Nairobi' City County’s budget. Embu County has Kshs448 million unbudgeted for. In Nyamira County, the governor told us yesterday that the assembly is split in the middle. You have two speakers, two clerks, two maces. One assembly sits in the 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."
}