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"id": 221707,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/221707/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Muchiri",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Local Government",
"speaker": {
"id": 225,
"legal_name": "Muchiri Geoffrey Gachara",
"slug": "geoffrey-gachara"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank you for the chance to contribute to this Motion for the adoption of the 14th Report of the PIC. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was an hon. Member of this Committee before my elevation to Assistant Minister for Local Government. I can, therefore, attest that the accuracy of the report is fine. I must take this opportunity to thank hon. Members with whom we worked together and made several hearings regarding various corporations. I must also note that the Controller and Auditor-General and his staff have done a very good job. I can tell you that among the auditors that I have come across, they appear to be very candid and straightforward. They leave no stone unturned when they give reports to the PIC. This Report is self-explanatory and I do not intend to take hon. Members through the pages. However, I want to say one thing: That there is need for hearings of the PIC to be made public. This was contained in the proposed Constitution that never saw the light of day. That, Parliament and its Committees be heard in public. So, if that was to be done, even if it was for this House to change its Standing Orders, I think it will go a long way as a deterrent to those who appear before the Committee for various malpractices, financially or otherwise. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if one was to take a pen and, perhaps, calculate the amounts of money we may have lost through mismanagement of finances in our parastatals in the past, one would come to the conclusion that the previous managers of corporations in this country were never serious. As we read this Report, you find that a lot of accounts that were deliberated upon, were accounts that were before the Kibaki administration. I used to say in the PIC that the amount of corruption and fraud that is contained in this book is almost equal to or very close to the so-called Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing. Therefore, this document should be taken very seriously by parent Ministries so that where action is required, it is taken. It is just a question of action being taken. However, the responsibility of implementation of recommendations by this Committee is rested with the Treasury. I would like to call upon the Treasury and officers concerned to ensure that the recommendations by PIC are followed up. I also see that this House originates the Controller and Auditor-General's reports to Parliament; the PIC hears the cases and reports thereof, then we go back to the Treasury for implementation. To me, it appears like a circus of some sort. I would wish to see that in future, we have an implementation Committee of Parliament to implement what comes out of the Public Investments Committee (PIC) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). I think that would make matters to 1418 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 16, 2007 be fairly okay. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as much as many corporations have been reported here, it is important to say that the PIC deals with a lot of backlog. For instance, the current PIC is dealing with issues to do with the past KANU administration. How do we encourage and facilitate the PIC to go through the current Reports instead of dealing with the backlog? We need to think about that particular aspect. For example, Parliament, through the Clerk of the National Assembly, should be able to facilitate the PIC to sit even when the House is in session so that they can finish the backlog. That has been a big problem. We are not supposed to be dealing with accounts for 1997/1998, 1998/1999, 1999/2000 or 2000/2001 when we are in the 2006/2007 financial year. I think that is an issue. It is, indeed, a structural problem that we need to look at."
}