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"id": 50643,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Konchela",
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"legal_name": "Gideon Sitelu Konchella",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. First of all, I want to advise the very senior members of the military and the Government that this is not about the operations of the military. This is not about micro- managing the military. This is about accountability for the money that Parliament allocates to this Ministry. Since this amendment does not seem to be provided for in the new Constitution, many Members of the Cabinet are still living in the past. The time for change has come and unless they adapt to change, they will be sent out by the change. I want to read Article 201, of the Chapter on Public Finance, which says as follows:- â201. The following principles shall guide all aspects of public finance in the Republic of Kenya- (a) there shall be openness, accountability, inclusiveness, public participation in financial matters---â Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, this Article goes on to say, under part (d), that public money shall be used in a prudent and responsible way. The Department of Defence has to show this House how prudent they are using the money that is allocated to them. The other day, they skewed procurement of equipment because of reallocation of money; this was because they had so much money they did not plan for. The Minister has not yet bothered to tell us about the military equipment that is crashing. The other day, a military helicopter crashed because there is no training. There are no pilots because of misuse of money. It is because there is no openness or inclusiveness or public participation. The same Article 201 goes on to say, under part (e), that financial management shall be responsible, and fiscal reporting shall be clear. When we talk about responsibility and fiscal reporting, we are talking about accountability. We are saying that we want accountability in the Ministry, just as the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security has done with the Police, the Criminal Investigations Department, and with all other aspects within that Ministry. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we also want the military to move on, just as it is done in the United States of America (USA) and in the United Kingdom (UK), where Force Commanders are directly responsible to the Commander-in-Chief. They should not report to the Chief of General Staff (CGS) or the Defence Council. They report directly to the President in times of war. How will the Service Commanders be able to do that if they have no resources with which to create the capacity of their forces to defend the country? That is why pirates can come to Mombasa and do whatever they want. That is why there is no way we can fire a single bullet in the air to defend this country. That is why our neighbours are saying that Kenya has a commercial military. That is the attitude that our neighbours have about our military. So, all we want is proper management of public resources in the military. That is what we are trying to tell this Minister, who is a very senior person in this country. Please, allow change to take its own course. Do not allow the status quo to hold us back. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we have the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA). In fact, one of the things that the Ministry of Finance ought to do is to, quickly, bring an amendment to the Public Procurement Disposal Act, 2005, to address the shortcomings of financial management in this country, and include the Economic Stimulus projects, which are found in the Ministry of State for Defence and other Ministries, so that the procurement process is shortened to be able to provide services to the people of Kenya in good time; in this way the Government can expend money, and not reallocate it because they have excess money that they have not used because they have not planned for it. We now know the real time of procurement in the military. Sometimes it takes four or five years. They should plan their procurement for major equipment. They should not ask for money which they will not use next year. We are saying that if we allocate money to the Navy Commander, the Air Force Commander and the Army Commander, they will be able to plan their specific needs. Each Service Commander will be able to operationalise and service the equipment in his unit. That way, each unit will be able to do what it is supposed to do. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I do not want to go into details, because the Report of the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations is going to agree with me on this one. Without talking too much, I want to support this proposal. It is very important because it will ensure that our militaryâs capability is enhanced. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}