HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 176506,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/176506/?format=api",
"text_counter": 181,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Medical Services",
"speaker": {
"id": 185,
"legal_name": "Danson Buya Mungatana",
"slug": "danson-mungatana"
},
"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to air my views on this Fiscal Management Bill, 2008. First of all, I want to congratulate Mr. Mbau for being very consistent on this matter. We debated the Motion a few months ago and he did not delay. Immediately he got leave of this House to introduce this Bill, he worked day and night and was able to bring to this House what we had requested him to do. I thank him, and I join all the hon. Members who have stood here to very strongly support this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, recently, the world had a problem. There was a global crisis in the world economies. One of the big economies that were affected was that of the United States of America (USA). What happened was that the current President of the USA proposed to the Congress some measures that would rescue the country from the economic demise that it was going through. The President did not just wake up one day and decide that he was going to spend December 04, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3903 public money in the manner he wished, dreamed of or thought best. He went to the people's representatives to get approval. It was not possible for him to get the approval, despite the fact that it was a serious matter. The Congress had to sit and create a bipartisan committee to work out details. The same package was sent back to the White House for debate and realignment. When the House had agreed, that matter was then passed with a lot of amendments. So, the people of the USA had a chance to scrutinize the work of the Executive. Even when the same country was going to war in Iraq, the President had to go to the House and ask for money. He had to get approval from the Congress. The people of the USA had to decide that they were going to spend money in a particular manner. The voting even decides whether you will make it back to the Congress or not. When we recently had a food crisis, we just read in the newspapers that some several million bags of maize were going to be imported. It was a Cabinet decision. This House, the people's representatives, were not consulted. They were not told what was supposed to happen. Today, in one of the dailies, there is a headline that says that there is a cartel that is planning to fleece us and make millions out of our people, because of the process that is going to be followed for purposes of importation of that maize. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, so long as Parliament is kept in the dark by not being consulted, then the people's representatives are going to be sitting here and being part and parcel of abetting crime. This is because if the Cabinet approves the importation of maize and then the procedures are not clear, the next thing we will hear is the Press complaining that people are going to make money out of it. If that is the case, then what are we doing? It is very frustrating and I think time has come for this Parliament to empower itself so that the Executive can work truly in consultation with the people's Parliament. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I admire the system that is used in the United States of America (USA), because in the Ministry of Medical Services, we are always counting that at least US$0.5 billion is going to come to support the war against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The announcement was first made by the current President of the USA but recently we have been informed that the President-elect together with the new Congress have approved an even better package. That means the people of America are actually consulted and they feel there is something they have to do for Africa. Through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Initiative, we are getting this money but it is not coming because of the whims of the Executive. The taxpayers, through the elected people's representatives, are having a say in deciding where their money goes. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill needs to be supported by each and every Member of this House. It does not matter what people say or not, but we need to take charge of what happens. Indeed, Section 100 of the Constitution as we know it now, is very clear that we must perform the oversight function as far as looking after the money of Kenyans is concerned. This is what this Bill is going to help us do. In particular, we have sat here to discuss and approve a lot of the committee reports. In particular, we have the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Investments Committee (PIC) reports. In my first term in this House, every year when the reports were tabled, we heard of massive thefts of public resources. The PIC reports say that this is what we have discovered and in its recommendations they say that so-and-so should be investigated and they are thrown back to the Minister for Finance. The next year, again the same theft occurs and yet parliamentary committees were in action but nothing could be done by Parliament to stop a repeat of that theft. So, what happens? The Controller and Auditor-General brings the same report and says that so-and-so stole or this department could not account for this amount of money. We discussed it, condemned those people but the bureaucrats laughed at us outside there because Parliament could not do anything. They are planning for the theft of the same funds next year. It is terrible! 3904 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES December 4, 2008 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, so Clause 16 of this wonderful Bill is saying that we will have power on the recommendations of the Controller and Auditor-General to withhold monies that are supposed to go to a particular Vote-on-Account if there is no proper accounting of money by any department of Government. In essence, if for example, a particular department of Government failed to practise prudence and adhere to sound fiscal management practices, then it is denied money by the exercise of these powers to operate during that year. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this means that Parliament is going to grow teeth to bite and stop the wastage. I predict that what is going to happen is that in due course, like hon. Midiwo said, like what is happening in Sweden, there will be no reports here of people saying that money has been stolen because there will be no opportunity. Those departments that are not doing what they are supposed to do will not be getting any money. Consequently, no public monies will be wasted. As far as I am concerned, we need to pass this Bill like yesterday. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, more importantly, we are looking into a new constitutional dispensation and most likely we are going to have an office of a Prime Minister. Not the way it was created now but created in the new Constitution. It is going to be an office that is led by the leader of a political party that has majority Members in this House. Most likely, we are also going to have a President. This President in this new constitutional dispensation will not continue to lord over this House because the leader of the political party with most Members of Parliament will be seated here to make sure that the monies that are going to be passed through this House are not going to be used in the manner in which the Executive feels. The people who will be seated in this House will make sure that monies are going to be spent in a manner in which this country will benefit to the fullest. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to start preparing for this scenario. The country is different now. The days when we used to have a big man seated somewhere deciding the fate of millions of Kenyans alone are now over. We are going to run this country as a nation that consults. If you want to spend money, you come to Parliament and speak to it. Parliament needs to be convinced that the money is going to be spent appropriately and it is the only authority that will be passing that money. No dirty sticky hands of the Executive will ever touch money passed by this Parliament. We do not need to say more. We need to pass this Bill today. Let us finish with this Second Reading and then bring it for Third Reading, pass it and make it law. With those few remarks, I beg to support. Thank you."
}