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"speaker_name": "Mr. Khamasi",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have experience. The Assistant Minister came here much later when I had been here for quite a number of years. In fact, I have just been advised even on the question of the Cotton Board. We will go through this. So, I will not withdraw what I have just said because I know it is true. The Chair also knows that it is true. So, there will be no point in me withdrawing what I have just said. Furthermore, we cannot allow Dr. Ojiambo to withdraw this Motion because it is no longer her property. It is now the property of the House. We have to deliberate and make a decision on it. So, it is outside her jurisdiction to come here to say that she is withdrawing, because this is already a matter for this House to decide upon. Therefore, the Assistant Minister must let us decide on it as a property of the House. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think this piece of legislation is already overdue. We should have had it a long time ago. This is the only language that the Government listens to. Why was it not doing it? Now that somebody is seeking leave to introduce a Bill, it now comes here to say: \"Withdraw it, because we are doing something about it.\" This is the only language that can make this Government realise that it has got to stand up and work. In fact, I am sure Dr. Ojiambo will look for finances to work on this Bill and bring it to the House. However, if Dr. Ojiambo thinks that the Ministry of Finance will ever do that, she will wait for another two years when the life of this Parliament comes to an end. If she gets elected to this House, she will be lucky to do it herself. The Ministry will never do it. So, she should take note. That is free professional advice from a person who has been here for long, and who has known the track record of the Governments that have been in place since Independence. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, in 2003, when the NARC took power, so many supplies May 31, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1055 officers were either sacked or retired. We all hoped that the situation would improve. If you go back to the records to establish what happened, you will find that what the people in the NARC administration wanted to do was to actually replace the previous supplies officers with their favoured persons. That is exactly what happened. If you look at what goes on in the Supplies Departments of all Government Ministries, you will realise that the culture of eating is the in-thing. There is no professionalism. People go there to enrich themselves. In fact, it is only that cadre of civil servants which is filthy rich. They cannot explain how they acquired their wealth. The situation calls for a law to regulate the operations of Supplies Departments. We want some ethics in that particular profession. The level of inefficiency in the Procurement Department of Ministries and parastatals is just alarming. I have had experience from the Procurement Department of the National Assembly. If you request for a small calculator from the Supplies Office of the National Assembly, it will take three months for it to get to your desk. It is a shame. That is why there is need to have a law in place providing for structures and controls as well as for timing on how things should be done. So, it is very important that this law comes into place. We should never, at any one time, think that the Government will bring a Bill to this House. The current financial year is almost over. In the next two or three weeks, the Minister for Finance will present his Budget to this House. We shall do nothing else until the end of October, because you cannot interrupt debate on the Budget until all the Votes have been discussed and agreed upon. That means, in the current calendar year, we have only November to transact any other business. When that time comes, the Government will say that the Supplies Management Practitioners Bill is not of necessity. There will be more essential Bills to be discussed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even if the Bill is brought then, Dr. Ojiambo will have to lobby to see whether it can be placed on the Order Paper. It will not be automatic. So, when the Minister for Finance stands here, smiles and tell us that they have already discussed with Dr. Ojiambo that the Government is doing something about this Bill, we should understand that the Government will never bring such a Bill to this House. It may not even come here next year until after elections, and it will be forgotten. Therefore, it is important that we move very fast and ensure that this Bill is introduced to this House. The Bill is for the benefit of this country and the employees in this sector. If this Bill is passed, the resultant Act will save this country lots of money. With those few comments, I beg to support."
}