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{
"id": 1567978,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1567978/?format=api",
"text_counter": 157,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Navakholo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Broadcasting House in Nairobi, measuring 2.8 acres where the KBC headquarters are located, is registered in the name of the Chief Secretary, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, a corporate body established by the Chief Secretary (Incorporation) Ordinance of 1958. As we speak, KBC is operating on land that does not belong to it. We do not understand why, to date, the documents have not been updated to reflect KBC or its most recent name. It should be noted that under the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), an entity can only recognise sales in its books of accounts if it possesses ownership documents for those assets. Even as we estimate the figures at Ksh158 million for the land, this is based on original costs and not current valuations, as no assessments could be conducted due to the absence of title deeds. Hon. Speaker, the Committee recommends, with specifications that, within three months of the adoption of this Report, the accounting officers should liaise with the relevant Government agencies, namely the Ministry of Lands and the National Land Commission (NLC), to secure ownership documents for all corporation land and report back to the National Assembly. We also recommend that, within two months of the adoption of this Report, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, along with the Chairperson of the NLC, should place caveats on all parcels of State corporation land currently in private hands and report back to the National Assembly. Here, we are particularly addressing the issue of land in private hands at the KNH and the KBC. Additionally, within six months following the adoption of this Report, let the accounting officers, through the NLC, prioritise and expedite the resolution of ownership issues concerning parcels of land belonging to the State corporations and report back to the National Assembly. We also noted cross-cutting issues and delays in availing documents to the Auditor- General. Among the five corporations, we found significant delays in furnishing documents to the Office of the Auditor-General. I want to draw the attention of the House to a specific entity like the KBC, whose accounting documents for a five-year period are missing. During an audit year, they do not have records for an entire five-year span. It defies logic to claim that a corporation lacks documents for auditing by the Auditor-General. This is a serious issue, and it is important that this House adopts this Report to enforce compliance with the requirements for filing documents with the Office of the Auditor-General. In that regard, we recommend that the accounting officers comply with the provisions of Section 68, Part II of the Public Finance and Management (PFM) Act, 2012, which mandates that they must submit the documents for audit within the specified years. The cross-cutting issues that we also noted among the five state agencies were poor governance and weak internal controls. There were delays in appointing the boards of directors. There is a tendency by the Executive to delay the appointment of the boards of directors of the various State corporations and, particularly, what we noted was the issue of KEMSA, which did not have a substantive board chairperson since October 2015, following the expiry of the second term of the Chair. It did not have a substantive chief executive officer from 1st January 2017 to 30th June 2018. It defeats logic that a State corporation can exist without a chairperson and yet, we needed it to spend and to be accountable. Moreover, like the issue of KEMSA, there was no CEO for a period within which we were sitting. Furthermore, the tenure of the Kenya Veterinary Board of Directors ended on 30th March 2021, and a new board had not been appointed as at 30th June 2021. This is a big variance; we need to have a board in place. Hon. Speaker, our recommendation is that within three months of the adoption of this Report, the Inspector-General of State Corporations, with the help of the National Assembly, should initiate the process of amending the State Corporations Act to make it clear that no entity should be allowed to make any financial commitment without a properly constituted board. 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."
}