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"id": 273439,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/273439/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Obure",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Public Works",
"speaker": {
"id": 118,
"legal_name": "Christopher Mogere Obure",
"slug": "christopher-obure"
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"content": " Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to make a few comments on this Bill. I want to say from the beginning that I support this Bill. I think it is very well drafted. It is very comprehensive. It covers practically all the aspects we would like to see in the management of public resources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the new Constitution, one of the most fundamental changes that has occurred is introduction of the devolved system of Government; that was what Kenyans were looking for. The devolved system of Government gives Kenyans a new hope and a new promise for prosperity and going forward into the future. In actualising the devolved system of Government, this particular Bill is going to be very critical. It is a very important Bill, because it spells out a number of measures and controls in the management of public resources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, devolution promises faster economic development in all the counties. We see the potential of attracting more investments into the counties. We also see an opportunity for exploiting some of the resources available in the counties; therefore, as leaders and Members of Parliament we have a duty to make sure that the devolved system of Government is implemented to the full for the benefit of our people. The only thing that worries is the quality of staff likely to be available at the county level; I think we must take into consideration the amount of resources that are going to be channelled to the counties. It is important to ensure that we have quality public officers managing these resources at the county level, otherwise the objectives will not be achieved if we do not have quality staff managing these resources. Therefore, every effort must be made to ensure that even where the staff are not available, the counties are assisted by making sure that quality staff are posted to those areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the major things we have noticed, particularly with respect to aspects which have already been devolved, is that the general public out there want to get involved. They want to see what is happening in their own areas and what programmes have been put in place in their respective areas. This involvement and participation by the public is important if we are going to encourage efficient resource application. It is very important that the general public is sufficiently informed to understand what programmes are in place in their particular areas. Therefore, I want to urge members of the public, particularly public officers and servants, that they should view this as a nuisance encroaching into their areas. They should on the contrary welcome public involvement in what happens in their areas, because it is this public involvement that will encourage accountability. The essence of this Bill is to ensure that public officers are accountable to the general public for the manner in which public resources are used. It is very important. I have seen cases out there in the rural areas, where, for example in the area of maintenance of access roads, the general public want to know what kind of road is being made, and whether it actually conforms to the designs and specifications which have been entered into in the agreements between contractors and those people. In a number of cases, that public involvement has resulted in substantial savings of money because the quality of work done has gone up to the extent that we are now achieving better output. We are able to see a situation where we are getting value for money, and where we are using public resources much more efficiently than what we used to see in the past. This is why this whole Bill is very important; it encourages aspects like public involvement and participation and good use of resources; the whole essence of this Bill is really to try and ensure that the taxpayer gets a return on his money and this is very important. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must go out there and strengthen our monitoring and evaluation systems. We must strengthen our internal audit system, if the objectives of this Bill are going to be achieved. I want once again to thank the Minister and his staff for coming out with a Bill that responds to the aspirations and hopes of the people. I hope that all of us, including the general public, will ensure that this Bill is enacted into law, and that it will help us to achieve our objective, namely to apply public resources much more efficiently than we have done in the past. Thank you and I support."
}