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{
    "id": 489871,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/489871/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 133,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Accounts and Investments Committee (PAIC) so that people can be summoned. Article 125 of the Constitution is very clear on the issue of summoning anybody; and it talks about “anybody”. That article cannot be gainsaid and I do not believe that any court of law – I am sure that I am not flouting the sub judice rule – is going to amend Article 125 of the Constitution to read other than that the Senate of the Republic of Kenya has a right to summon anybody to come and answer questions, particularly questions of accountability. It is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, Sir, that when we seek accountability, people rush to court and the courts give them refuge. Because the amount of time lost – even as we know that there is a very big backlog of cases in the courts – by running to and from courts instead of doing the honorable thing and obeying the law is very unfortunate. I am happy to report that I was asked by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale’s Committee to appear before it when the Governor for Murang’a confirmed, on his own motion or volition, that he would come and give evidence. He came and several queries were raised. What I learned that morning from that Committee is that, that Committee does not summon Governors for the fun of it; neither is it true that they summon Governors to try and humiliate them. The issues that were raised to the Governor of Murang’a were serious. It does not matter whether we are talking about Kshs100, Kshs100,000, Kshs10 million or even Kshs1 billion; money that is coming from the taxpayers has to be accounted for. That is why that Committee which is chaired by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale was so important, and I am sure that even the Governor saw that there was need for him to appear before it, the court orders notwithstanding, because he clarified the issues. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has now said that most of the things that were raised with him have been cleared. Mr. Speaker, Sir, like Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has said, the Motion that we passed in this House to withhold the funding to the four counties, including Murang’a, was because of the intransigence and disobedience that those Governors had shown. I am on record on the HANSARD of that day as having said that the 1.2 million people of Murang’a should not suffer because of that intransigence or disobedience of the law. If the money is still going to be withheld, it is not the Governor who is going to suffer but the 1.2 million people of the County of Murang’a. Because the Governor has now obeyed the law – he has come before the Senate and answered the questions; whether satisfactorily or otherwise – then that is the reason that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has said – and I am hoping that he has brought this matter to your attention – that a way then needs to be found of extracting Murang’a County from the four so that it is now free to receive the funding that it is supposed to receive because of that obedience. I do not believe that we have to come here again and pass a Motion now to release Murang’a from among the four. I believe that is administrative because there was no reason other than that; that they have not obeyed the law and the summons. There was no other reason. So, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I believe that everything that now remains is administrative and that your office or the Clerk’s Office, through your office, should now advise the Controller of Budget that Murang’a County is no longer among the four disobedient counties and, therefore, it should be removed from that list. 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."
}