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"id": 217321,
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"speaker_name": "Capt. Nakitare",
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"legal_name": "Davis Wafula Nakitare",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, considering the fact that Parliament approves a lot of money based on the Budget read by the Minister for Finance, I have here the 2006/2007 Budget Estimates and my question is directed to the money allocated to the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF). A lot of money has been channelled to the Local Government. For many years, the hue and cry from the public about misappropriation of funds in the Local Government has received a deaf ear from the Ministry. Now that the CDF has been introduced, it is complementing the Local Government's responsibility of developing and channelling money to the grassroots level. Are we complementing this exercise with the LATF money? How is LATF spent alongside the CDF? Constituencies fall under municipalities and county councils. This is a serious issue. It is common knowledge that county councils are almost autonomous to the extent that whatever procurement they make is not supervised. Most of them do not tender to acquire equipment. For instance, Kitale Municipal Council recently acquired a reconditioned grader at an exorbitant cost. The cost of the grader and the method that was used to obtain this equipment are questionable. The Ministry is silent about this. 1904 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 20, 2007 Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of the LATF money being diverted to pay salaries to officers in municipalities and county councils should also be looked into. Administrative services should be rendered according to the revenue that is accrued from within the municipalities or county councils. Why is money meant for maintenance and the provision of utilities in the councils diverted to pay salaries? The Minister should answer this question to this House. The other issue is the area of welfare, which is pathetic in the Ministry of Local Government. Services are not being properly distributed according to the needs of the people. Ghettos are mushrooming and there is no planning in all the towns in this country. Municipal councils have allowed people to put up houses \"anyhowly\", some of which have collapsed and killed many people. The Ministry of Local Government has to look into this issue. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the area of health, the Ministry of Local Government has abdicated its responsibility. There is a Local Government ordinance which forbids people from rearing livestock in municipalities and urban centres. You will find donkeys, cows and dogs in residential areas, where there are no services at all. Recently, the City Council of Nairobi undertook an exercise to kill dogs in residential areas within the City to eliminate this nuisance. The Minister talked about other services. The Kshs375.9 billion is a colossal amount of money. This is Appropriations-In-Aid. Currently, we have roads which are in pathetic conditions. Procurement and tendering for road works takes 18 months. We have to wait for 18 months to have a road repaired. The Ministry of Roads and Public Works has to be questioned about this. How long will we drive on patched roads, some of which are not patched properly? This is fleecing of public funds. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the post-Budget briefing that we had the other day, we were also concerned about the CFS. This country has been borrowing money for years, but we have to understand how much money we still owe the donors. This is not a gift. Are we mortgaging our country through borrowing money for cosmetic reasons just to please the political circles? We need to have a real conclusion in the finances. It is true that the current Government has done a wonderful job by containing and collecting revenue through taxes. We are seeing the fruits of this modern Government. We must applaud the President of this country, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, for the effort he has put to improve the financial sector in particular. Previously, we did not have controls, checks and balances in the use of our finances and we have had a lot of problems. That is how corruption came about. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs said that the political turn-over has interfered with the recovery of looted money. Is she trying to shield corrupt people who have fleeced public money for many years? Is there a method that we can use to recover the money that has been looted? In the modern world, a person who has committed a crime and has been expelled from the social circles is not eligible to hold public office. Why do we, Kenyans, continue to harbour and shield these people, instead of sacking those who have been found guilty of fraud? Instead, when somebody commits fraud in one Ministry, he is transferred to another Ministry. This is transferring the problem from one Ministry to another. This is a cover up, and it is pathetic. It is a sentiment which enhances corruption. If we went out and said that only people with an upright integrity should be appointed to public offices, the issue of corruption would not arise. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of finance, we have the expenditure and the income. We have seen how much money we have and how much has been allocated to expenditure. However, the reality is that we may not see the results of authorising appropriation. The AIE holders, and particularly those of the Ministry of Local Government who operate in the districts are fleecing Government money. These are people who are not even supervised. There is no audit done on money which is channelled to the districts. It, therefore, becomes difficult for the money to June 20, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1905 reach the people who deserve it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of education, we applaud the Free Primary Education (FPE) Programme. However, we still need to look into the provision of free tuition in secondary schools. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}