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"id": 196128,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Twaha",
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"id": 145,
"legal_name": "Yasin Fahim Twaha",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it was noted in the Report adopted by the House yesterday that the Office of the Attorney-General, and a few other Government departments, have not been giving Kenyans value for their money. For instance, under paragraph 348 of the 2002/2003 Report, the Committee was informed that nugatory expenditure of Kshs11,374,049.85 incurred by the Department of Defence could have been avoided or minimised, if Kenya Armed Forces drivers took necessary care to avoid road accidents. An additional expenditure of Kshs847,345.65 could have been avoided if claims were settled in time. The Committee was informed that the payments were made upon advice from the Attorney-General's Chambers. The Committee was gravely concerned that, in spite of its recommendations in the previous reports, road accidents caused by military drivers continued not only to escalate but also cost the Government huge amounts of losses in form of compensation. The Committee also abhorred the manner in which the Attorney-General failed to notify the Department about some court awards in time leading to unnecessary accrued interests which would have been avoided. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Accounting Officer and the Attorney-General should be held responsible for the loss incurred by Government where negligence is established. On payments for goods not delivered, the Committee in many instances abhorred the manner in which payments were made for goods not delivered. A major example was the Anglo Leasing Scandal. The Committee was informed, under paragraphs 361 and 362 of the 2002/2003 Report, that M/s Tripple Avionic Tech was detailed to supply a battery charge analyzer and MOD Cache for 50-ACB to the Department of Defence at a cost of Kshs1,536,500. The supplier was paid, but she did not deliver the goods. The Committee further heard that, in pursuit of the matter, the Ministry wrote to the vendor of Tripple Avionic Tech on 1st July, 2005, April 23, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 625 repudiating the contract and demanded that she refunds the Ministry the Kshs1,536,500. The supplier did not respond to the demand and the Ministry instructed the Attorney-General to institute legal proceedings against her. In spite of a number of reminders, the Attorney-General did not confirm action on the matter. The Committee abhorred the manner in which the DOD proceeded to pay the supplier in advance contrary to financial regulations and without a bank guarantee. The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer and the Ministry's Legal Department should hastily liaise with the Attorney-General and the Director of the Kenya Anti- Corruption Commission (KACC) to ensure that the culprits are prosecuted soonest and the amount of Kshs1,536,500 is recovered in full from the supplier. The Committee further recommends that the company, M/s Tripple Avionic Tech, should not only be precluded from future awards of Government contracts but also be deregistered. The Committee was also concerned by the deliberate breach of procurement and financial regulations. The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer should discipline and surcharge the officers involved. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is also the problem of poor bookkeeping which the Committee came across. The Committee noted that some officers in Ministries maintained poor bookkeeping and recommended that the Accounting Officers should discipline the officers responsible for poor bookkeeping and be surcharged in case of repeat offences. There was also the problem of under-utilization of funds. The Committee noted that, on several occasions, unutilized funds were returned to the Treasury at the close of each year due to inefficiency and incompetence of public officers. A case in point was the failure to supply drugs to the Ministry of Health in paragraph 465 of the 2002/2003 Report. The Committee was informed that due to the delays in the tendering process, the goods were not delivered at the close of the financial year. The Committee was concerned that, as a result, patients could not receive goods and services in time. The Committee also noted with concern the irresponsible manner in which the Ministry officials poorly planned and executed the implementation of delivery of drugs. The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer, who is aware of the existing procurement and financial regulations, should put in place strict measures to ensure that members of the public are not denied goods and services due to non-use of funds arising from negligent officers. The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Officers should ensure that the officers who were responsible for delay in procurement of supplies are appropriately disciplined. On the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) under the Ministry of Local Government; the Committee was informed that in 2002/2003, 31 local authorities were penalised a total of Kshs30.76 million as a result of non-compliance with LATF conditionalities. The Committee noted with concern that the incompetence of the chief officers responsible for meeting the conditionalities contributed to the inefficiencies observed in those local authorities, hence denying citizens essential services. The Committee also noted that local authorities should not be penalised as a result of negligence on the part of the chief officers. The Committee noted with grave concern that the failure to comply with LATF regulations was used as a conduit for siphoning or misappropriating public funds. The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer must ensure that the chief officers of local authorities who contribute to the failure to meet the conditionalities due to negligence or incompetence should be severely disciplined and surcharged. I have heard of instances where the only remedy the Ministry takes is to transfer the concerned officers to other stations under the pretence of disciplining them. This is mockery and it is unacceptable to the taxpayer. Stern measures should be instituted by the Ministry. On the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee, I will not have added value to the Committee's work if I fail to mention some key issues concerning the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee. Normally, after the adoption of the PAC Reports by the House, the Treasury, through the Ministry of Finance, is expected to take up the matters with the 626 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 23, 2008 various Ministries and Departments and report back to the House via the Treasury Memorandum. I wish to report to this House that the latest Treasury Memorandum presented to the House relates to the Reports of 1996/1997. You would recall that this House has adopted the Reports of up to 1999/2000 accounts and yet, the Minister has not responded to date. What my friend, hon. Ethuro, and other Members have said on the PAC Reports implementation will bear no fruit if the Treasury does not pull up its socks. After scrutinising the Treasury Memorandum of 1996/1997, and the years before, some of the answers provided by the Treasury were wanting. For example, an audit query in the Ministry of Lands on Township Roads and Drains Account has never been resolved for several years. In the PAC Report of 1996/1997, the Committee had recommended that the officers who conceived, awarded the contract and implemented the project without following the laid down procurement and financial regulations should be identified and severe disciplinary action, including surcharging, be taken against them. However, in the Treasury Memorandum on the matter on page 456, the answer was, in quotes: \"The Accounting Officer has not commented on the Committee's recommendation\". Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I doubt whether that is a serious answer from a serious and respected Government institution charged with overseeing and controlling public funds. A lot is, therefore, left to be desired. In conclusion, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to express the appreciation of the Committee. The Committee wishes to thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and the Clerk of the National Assembly, for facilitating its sittings and funding its inspection tours. The Committee wishes to record its appreciation for the services rendered by the officers from the Controller and Auditor-General's office and Clerk of the National Assembly, along with the representatives from the Treasury. Their efforts and patience made the work of the Committee and the production of this Report possible. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move and request hon. Yusuf Chanzu to second the Motion. Thank you."
}