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{
    "id": 1552626,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1552626/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 603,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Nyamu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Speaker. Today, I speak both as a lawyer and a Member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (JLAC) that prepared this Report. I will not be visiting the recommendations because I am part and parcel of the process that came up with those recommendations. What is happening in our county government is organised corruption, and I dare say that fraudulent legal claims in public institutions, particularly our county government, is a new frontier for corruption. Madam Temporary Speaker, if you observe the urgency with which legal fees are settled at the expense of development budgets in our counties, you will realise that something is fishy. Our county governments are already cash-strapped, yet priority is often given to settling pending bills for legal fees. When you view it as a layman or even as a lawyer, it is tantamount to making money by merely shuffling papers and the profit margins huge. As Members of this House, we are tasked with protecting the funds allocated to counties. If we fail to address this ongoing trend, we will end up pouring resources into what I would describe, in Swahili, as a leaking basket. In Nairobi, when the new administration took office, the pending legal fees bill stood at Kshs5.1 billion. Governor Sakaja appointed a five-member Legal Fees Verification Committee, which successfully reduced this amount to Kshs2.7 billion. This is a huge amount of money. This is money that could have been used to equip Nairobi hospitals with medicine and medical equipment, create employment opportunities for our youth, improve our roads among 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."
}