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"content": "charges have been substantiated. Since matters of law are intertwined, what proves the procurement law to have been breached, to an extent, goes on to prove the breaching of the Public Finance Management Act. What I will deal with is the breach to the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, may I, therefore, start with the charge of gross violation of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act. It was our finding that the County Assembly of Embu, in the particular allegation stated on 25th October, 2013 - we found that the Office of the Governor had actually authorized procurement of maize of a variety and quantity other than that which had been requisitioned by the Office of the Director of Agriculture; that being the only office in the County Assembly of Embu which has the prerequisite expertise on the matter that has been cited. By so procuring that particular variety, the Assembly further stated that the procured seeds of variety DK8031, either did not germinate at all or where it did, it had a germination of less than 20 per cent. Most of us come from farming communities. In fact, some of us are farmers. A seed that germinated less than 75 per cent on your farm means crop failure because you cannot break even. In this case, it was zero to 20 per cent germination. Coupled with the fact that the Office of the Governor changed the right variety to this particular one, we were forced to ask the Governor to respond. The only thing he told us which is on record is that: It was not his business and he does not know. He also told us in this response that, maybe, it was the lack of rain. We must disabuse the issue of blaming the rains. This particular variety was deliberately procured in consideration of the short rains. It was an attempt to plant during the short rains. So, had they procured using the one that had been recommended by the technical committee, it was going to meet the requirements of the short rains. We, therefore, found that on that particular charge, the Governor had failed to sufficiently find an excuse enough for him to exit from blame. We, as a Committee, therefore, observed that it was clear that DK8031 maize seeds was a matter of great concern within Embu County. Hon. Members, I want you to understand the county we are talking about. It could be different from yours if you come from Mandera where they keep camel. Embu is a county that relies heavily on agriculture and it is known for its productivity. Thus where maize seeds are distributed extensively within the county by the authority of the governor, where he did it personally using his own authority, planted by the farmers in absolute good faith, but the seeds “refuse” or fail to germinate or where they did, the germination rate was less than 20 per cent, this is a matter that would be of utmost and grave concern to the residents of Embu. Some of these maize could have been sold and some of it used for family consumption. Imagine a situation whereby a family had sold some of its assets like goats, sheep and cattle so as to prepare the fields knowing that when they sell the seeds, they will take their children to school. Where are those children today? Imagine further that if the planting was intended for food, has the County Assembly of Embu today given relief food to those families whose maize failed to germinate? Are we aware of any one in the national Government having taken relief food to Embu? This Senate must speak, so that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}