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{
    "id": 1550055,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1550055/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 334,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Irene Mayaka",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also stand to support the Motion. Before I make my remarks, I would like to congratulate my brother and Chairperson of the PAC, Hon. Tindi Mwale and the Vice-Chairperson, Hon. Udgoon. The two, together with Hon. Kuria Kimani and myself, belong to the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association (KYPA). It is a proud moment for us to have fellow Members of the KYPA doing a fantastic job. I would like to urge them to continue with the good job. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as the Chairperson of the Committee has said, this is the second Report by this Committee. We are in the middle of this parliamentary session. I have a lot of hope and trust that they will burn the midnight oil and give us one or two more reports. Yesterday, when we were discussing the Division of Revenue Bill, one of the things that came out very clearly is that we are basing the calculation of our division of revenue on the past financial years instead of using what is happening currently. From our scrutiny of the Report shared by the Committee, they have given us general observations that cut across all our State departments and other organisations that they reviewed. There are some issues they observed which are very sad. One of them is poor accounting standards and general incapacity. This happens and yet we have qualified accountants in the State departments. Even as the Committee recommends that the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAK) should enforce compliance, we also need to review the engagement that the professions have with ICPAK. The accounting profession, which some of us belong to, is a very noble profession. We would not want it to be put into disrepute just because some people have decided not to adhere to the accounting standards that we have. I have also seen a suggestion that there should be periodic sensitisation and capacity building, which is very much okay. However, when practising in a certain profession, whether it is law, medicine or accounting, it is a personal responsibility to ensure that you update yourself with what is going on in the market. We should not be given excuses by our accounting colleagues that they cannot give us substantive reports that are within the accounting standards. This is because the reports have a ripple effect on a lot of other things that we do as a country. Hon. Temporary Speaker, there is also an observation on late submission of supporting data. This is very closely tied to the first observation because it just speaks to irresponsibility and people not taking their job seriously. This House cannot tolerate that because we also have very high standards in terms of expectations from the public. We should not accept other people to do a job that is not good enough because they represent the public. They run State departments, which have direct effect on what goes on in the country. There is also the issue of the continuously recurrent monster called the ‘Pending Bills.’ As my colleagues have said, this particular issue is affecting people out there. People are getting depressed. People are unable to sustain their businesses. Business people are unable to move forward. The recommendation that the Committee has given, which I agree with, is that the National Treasury should approve only projects that can be financed. Let us be prudent enough to look at things and be realistic as we approve some of these things. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the other issue that has come to the fore is the issue of interest and commitment fees that are charged. It is quite saddening for the Committee to report to us that we have situations where loans have been approved and disbursed, but they have not been utilized for the intended purposes, and that those loans are already accruing interest. Those are not good financial standards. We are paying interest on loans that are not even being utilised. That is very discouraging. Therefore, the Committee’s recommendation that the National 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."
}