Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1584743,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1584743/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 243,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dadaab, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "there, but I do not know if they are going to accept it. A few of them have called me, and they seemed disgusted by the issue. They Just create something like some small pans from nowhere without proper bill of quantities and take the money. I indicated earlier that we need that money to be put into infrastructure to help the entire rural area in my constituency get the national grid. By the way, the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) has the materials; all they need to do is provide labour. That place would have lit up the entire constituency. However, when you put that in the hands of governors, what happens? That money only facilitates labour and transport. Ksh200 million can light up my entire constituency, help with labour and transport as well. The materials are there with the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC). I do not know why even the Executive is afraid of the county governments. Why are they allowed to carry out the kind of corruption they are engaging in, which is rampant and unbridled? It is runaway and amok corruption. That is where the problem lies. Somebody told me the other day that old age and death begin from the legs. When one grows old, one begins to lose strength in the legs. The muscles cease to function. Why is this country experiencing institutional atrophy, beginning with the county governments and governors, who are crooked? They treat national resources as their personal property, while the Executive sits idly. This message goes directly to the Executive and all relevant agencies mandated to act. These are agencies that should be enforcing the law and protecting national resources for the benefit of Kenyans. When these things happen, as they are happening now, and public participation is nearly non-existent, people are enriching themselves and we are allowing it to happen. We are allowing hundreds of billions of shillings meant for Kenyans to go to waste. Governors are flying in choppers and planes, treating public resources as their estate. We have a serious problem in this country. This House, being a legislative body and a law-making organ has the express authority and constitutional mandate to act. We must begin addressing these issues decisively. We must declare that we shall not pass any appropriation before accountability measures are put in place. You will recall the time we tried to negotiate the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) before the courts intervened. The governors were pushing hard for control of that fund. They are now coming for the NG-CDF as well. The goal is not to serve the people through transparent, independent agencies. They simply want to steal. They are also misappropriating donor funds. I wish to state my position clearly: we have a problem in this country. We are talking about corruption, but it is the same corrupt individuals who enjoy the support of local communities. That is because Parliament has failed in its oversight role. The Executive has failed. The enforcement agencies responsible for law and order and the protection of national resources are also failing. We have a crisis. There is a crisis of resources. There is a crisis of poverty. Rampant poverty. The amount of money being disbursed to counties through devolution should be transforming the lives of ordinary citizens. It should be changing the lives of students. If the Senate has reduced itself to a body that becomes pliant during impeachment proceedings, allowing governors to move around, dishing out money and influencing Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), then we are in trouble. Governors go out and mobilise elders and other stakeholders to pressure MCAs to drop impeachment motions. These actions are deeply troubling. The ordinary citizen must be educated. There must be a robust civic education programme to inform people that every shilling must be accounted for. At the national level, at the county level, and even at the level of the NG-CDF. We are not the managers of the NG- CDF; it is managed by a board. However, everything must be accountable. We are a nation with resources, but the resources are not reaching the people. Kenyans are suffering. Students across the country are suffering. The little money available for bursaries 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."
}