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"speaker_name": "Mr. Ethuro",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. I also want to associate myself with the sentiments by my colleagues in congratulating the Minister, Mr. Oparanya, for a well-deserved appointment. I would have been his natural competitor except that the position went to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and I do not belong to it. April 24, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 691 I also wish to pay tribute to one Eng. Muriuki, a found member of the CDF, and a great son of this country who has made an impact, not only in his constituency but in the entire country. He gave the Ninth Parliament the greatest distinction of being the Parliament that created the CDF. Many times, we are so harsh to ourselves; people think the Ninth Parliament did nothing. Surely, what is more than such a contribution like the introduction of the CDF, which is impacting positively on the lives of poor Kenyans. Wherever he is, I wish him well. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we, as a Parliament, should not just be a forum to which some political parties bring political entities to it in the name of Nominated Members of Parliament without even there being a provision for Parliament itself to be given an opportunity to nominate one or two persons, who have distinguished themselves in Parliament. If we had such an opportunity, I would have easily recommended a man like Eng. Muriuki for nomination back to this House. I would also have recommended a man like Mr. Oloo-Aringo, a parliamentary reformist per excellence, to be back to this House. People seem not to see what is good for this House. For example, if you do those participatory rural appraisal exercises, and you want to show the people that soil erosion is a critical issue, wananchi will not know if it important because they do not perceive it that way; but in the long run it will affect them, will destroy the environment and bring them a lot of poverty. So, these provision should be made, so that some people who have made very distinctive contribution to Parliamentary democracy can be accorded an opportunity to come back. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I hear the Minister talking of Kshs3 billion in bank accounts, and thinks that we are not putting that money to use. I want to let the Minister know that, first, it is bad practise to try to use money because you are going into an election. In my own constituency by time we went to the election, I deliberately decided that I was going to leave Kshs20 million in the account, so that whoever was going to take over from me would find the CDF account with money. Secondly, we were not utilising the money because of the transition after the general election. Banks had been advised not to allow cheques to be cashed. I think that is good practice. It is important that we allow the new Members of Parliament to reconstitute the committees, and then they can start normalising the operations of the account. So, I do not think it is bad if Kshs3 billion is lying somewhere in an account. Fortunately, we had made a provision that CDF money cannot be surrendered to the Treasury at the end of the financial year. This accords us a bit of liberty and a free hand in deciding on our projects and implementing them the way they are. If you did a bit of in development economics, or community development, you will realise that projects do not go as per the plan. Sometimes, there is a delay here and there. So, we need that flexibility. I hope that, as you have the opportunity to serve in this Ministry, you will ensure that we have that flexibility and that we continue to have it . Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister is calling upon us to vet the Board, which he has given to us according to Section 5. I cannot agree more with the sentiments by my colleagues. The best way to vet a Board is if it is vetted by a Committee of the House. We are now getting names, and we are just trusting the Minister. Apart from the Permanent Secretary, we really do not know the other people. I pray that in your future proposals for amendments, this should be one of them. Once the Minister nominates the Board, then it should be vetted by a committee. Fortunately, the CDF has a Committee of the House, which can look at the details of these people and their curriculum vitae (CVs) just to make sure we get the right people. I do not know the ratio; I do not know whether it is 50-50 or regional balance, but not without merit. I would have wished that, as part of handing over, as I was an Assistant Minister in your Ministry, you should have put one good Turkana here. But we will take it because that is the law. But I think, just as a recommendation for good practice in future, it will really be nice if we get the Board vetted by the relevant--- Not really vetting. Maybe, vetting is a stronger word. We just need 692 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 24, 2008 a committee that to find out whether those people are qualified and competent enough as per the institutions that have submitted them. That is because I know that, even you, you are at the mercy of the institutions that are submitting. We really do not have enough time to check just to be sure that things are all right. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the accounts fund managers are a problem. We need to be brutally honest in this House. I heard you, Mr. Minister, at the Safari Park Workshop. Why do we have to impose people? Why do we want to create more bureaucracies? You have an accounts manager, District Development Officer (DDO), Deputy District Accountant, District Accountant, regional or zonal officer sitting in Eldoret for our case, and you are back to Nairobi. In economics, we say those are opportunities for seeking rent. The more the merrier for them. It means you have to move one voucher from one officer to the next to be signed. Everybody will want some percentage. All we need is a criteria to appoint account fund managers. We should appoint interviewing panels in our constituencies and the Board makes sure that the requirements--- Even the constituency panel can shortlist them and then they are vetted by the Board itself, so that we make sure we get the right people. That is the problem. We have employed staff already and they are not paid much because of the limitation of the 3 per cent of the administration costs. Now, when you bring your fund manager with a Kshs50,000 salary, he wants an imprest from our Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) money; something we had not factored for. That is because when we draw budgets, we do so strictly on the basis of: \"These are the staff that are there. These are the requirements of our office.\" Now, the same Board creates a facility and pays only a salary and it does not tell us how they will get their computers and kalamu and yet, these fellows are coming to ask us those things. We are in trouble with them. Some of us tell them: \"Go back where you came from. Whoever sent you should have sent you with a complete package and not just to bring you here to create more problems.\" So, Mr. Minister, you need to look at that very seriously. We really want that to be an opportunity for the local people. We also want that to be an opportunity for us to do things in a way--- Trust our people for once! Why does the Government think there are super human beings coming from other regions of the country that cannot come from that particular area? It is a philosophical problem that needs to be challenged. Let us put in place a process. I think, generally, the work of the Government should be regulatory. Let us ensure that we identify a process that makes sure that we get the right candidates from our places. You will find that a lot of communication is coming from above. It is kept like a garden secret by the DDO and the accounts fund manager. It is unleashed to us when we are extremely at our weakest. There should be no secret weapons in this business. I propose that any communication from the Board should be copied to the Member of Parliament. We have a right to know because we are either chairmen or patrons. I am a patron and a member of my CDF Committee. It is very embarrassing when I live in Nairobi and, when I go to my constituency, people on the ground have more information than me. All it requires is just to copy every correspondence, increment of allowance and everything you want to do. At least, let us know. This is by right! This is improving transparency and accountability. So, we need a clarification, Mr. Minister, when you respond, on who pays the account fund manager and who facilitates their allowances. That must be made clear. I hope the Board will make a provision for that. The CDF committees do an excellent job, but we have a ceiling of Kshs2,500. That is the maximum. Some of our areas of ours are very vast. In my constituency, I have a radius of about 200 kilometres without public transport. For those of us who really want to remain faithful to the guidelines, we have a lot of problems. That is because we have to pay them Kshs2,500 for food, accommodation and everything. They sit and deliberate, sometimes, for days. I think we need to April 24, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 693 review that. We want to be transparent and do what is right. We want to come and plead with you in the House, so that you can listen and make appropriate suggestions and recommendations. That way, together, we can do what is transparent and accountable. I am happy that you are talking about proposals in the future. We welcome them. One of them is to increase the administration cost from 3 per cent to 10 per cent. 3 per cent is not enough."
}