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"id": 225817,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kipchumba",
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"legal_name": "Joseph Kipchumba Lagat",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I also want to support this Motion; the adoption of the Report of the PAC for 1999/2000. Just as many hon. Members have said in this House, the biggest problem that we have had with many reports since Independence, is the failure by the Government to act on the recommendations of the House. Therefore, this Government, just like the previous governments of Mr. Kenyatta and Mr. Moi, are all the same. They belong to the same generation and therefore, this Government has not come with any difference. This and any other government must know that audit queries do not die. You may fail to act on the audit queries of yester-years, but many of the hon. Members know that these queries will catch up with you in the near future. We, in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), have struggled to ensure that we do, on an annual basis, two reports of the Controller and Auditor-General. We have done that very well to the extent that this financial year, we should be able to catch up with officers when they are still in office. It is our hope that the reports that are produced in any financial year are dealt with in the successive years so that any Minister or Permanent Secretary who is still in office should be able to answer for his sins. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have done very well. We have now done 2004/2005. April 18, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 751 Therefore, anybody who thinks that he can commit crime and run away will be shocked that PAC is catching up very fast. Our only let down, as I said before, is failure by the Government. If this Government cannot act on the audit reports, the Government that will come into power next year will be able, in good faith, to act on the same reports. Therefore, it is only fair that when this House gives work to its own Committee, they should be able to act on the report. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my disappointment with many officers of the Government is their continued repetition of the same mistake year in, year out. We have seen cases of under- expenditure. Every year, this House votes monies for various projects but when audits are done every financial year, we realise that many of the Ministries under-spend their various Votes. We have made recommendations year in, year out, since Independence that every Ministry without reasonable cause must be able to spend all its money. But it has become a song. We do it this year, we do it next year and we reiterate it next year. Many of our constituents suffer in the consequence to the extend that they are unable--- But there are Ministries which have done very well. For example, the Ministry of Energy has done very well to the extend that they should be given more funds. But certain Ministries should, in fact, get lower funds. That is why we have introduced the new Budget Bill. This will ensure that any Ministry that is unable to spend or act on any audit reports, the Minister responsible must bear the consequences. There are some small Ministries which are given Kshs10 billion and they are unable to spend even 50 per cent of that amount. But we have other Ministries which are given Kshs50 billion and they are able to spend all the money. It is time that the performance contracts that have been given to the various Accounting Officers be pegged to their ability to spend that money."
}