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{
    "id": 231247,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/231247/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 642,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Arungah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 292,
        "legal_name": "Julius Odenyo Arungah",
        "slug": "julius-arungah"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for intervening to allow me to proceed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was saying that the other area where the Government is losing money is through the process of procurement. I can say that this House, as I said before, has the capacity not to sit back and continue grumbling, but we can do something about making sure that the people involved in procurement do not get away with the crimes that they seem to be getting away with at the moment. I will give you an example of what I have in mind. This afternoon, we were told that there is a road that is being built in my area. The road is 30 kilometres long. The contractor has been given Kshs109 million just to put murram. The specifications are that the road is supposed to be 6 metres wide, 30 kilometres long and he has to put a layer of 15 mm of gravel. I have done a similar road inside my constituency. The cost of that road is Kshs500,000. Here is a contractor who has been given Kshs3.3 million to do the same kilometres that I am able to do in Khwisero for Kshs500,000. The reason is that when we went to tender, this person quoted the lowest and that procurement procedures were followed. Nobody bothers to find out even if the lowest quoted X amount of money, who else is available that can do that job. Are we getting value for that money? We know of cases where you have three or four people with the same identity using three different names to quote, and simply when the lowest is given, he withdraws and we end up giving the same to the highest. This is how this country has lost money. We have so many billionaires and so many paupers in this country. We have the means to do something about that as a House. I know of a case where a taxpayer was supposed to have given up to Kshs2 billion to the Exchequer. The assessment was made, the person agreed in writing that the Kshs2 billion was due and payable, but somehow the same person went to court to restrain KRA from collecting the same amount of money. When the client went to court to restrain KRA from collecting the Kshs2 billion, up to this minute, the Commissioner-General has not gone to court to challenge that court order. The money, Kshs2 billion, up to now, remains unpaid. You know what that amount means to the 4264 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES December 6, 2006 economy of this country, Mr. Speaker, Sir."
}