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{
    "id": 391160,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/391160/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 234,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "First, I would like to urge county governments, particularly, the Executive branch of the county governments to realise that we are putting before them the means to implement policies and programmes in the counties in accordance with the Constitution and the County Government Act. While doing that, I urge the county governments to take one very important step; that is the step of ensuring that checks and balances in Government work both at the national and at the county level. At the county level, we have the executive headed by the governor and the legislature headed by the Speaker. We know that at the moment, we have two accounting officers, the Clerk to the County Council on the Legislative side and various Ministries and Departments under the governors. Each head of a Ministry is a member of the executive committee or accounting officers. The Public Finance Management Act expects that monies disbursed to accounting officers shall be governed by specific regulations. But before monies are disbursed, particularly to the accounting officers in the legislative side of the Government, those accounting officers must exist, and the letters must reach the national Treasury saying exactly who the accounting officer is, that is, the county clerk. In most counties, this has been done, but monies have not yet been given to the legislative side of the Government. This, of course, undermines checks and balances, and the oversight function of the legislature, that is, the county assembly in the county. We have discussed this with the Controller of Budget and the Auditor-General and it is agreed that the once proper procedure is followed, the treasuries at county level and the Treasury of the Legislature should both receive their resources and function accordingly. This is very important and I hope that it will be done. We should not devolve bad manners to the counties in terms of management of finances."
}