HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 511909,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/511909/?format=api",
"text_counter": 271,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "they are not aware. However, in their race to seek rent, they are busy dishing out contracts left and right, regardless of whether the Government can afford to pay. This is hurting the Government because it leads to the public and investors losing confidence in the Government. I hope that in coming up with the regulations, the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the boards will come up with penalties that will ensure that county and national Governments do not over-commit their resources. With regard to issues of debt, there was a time when the Government had to borrow. It was forced to borrow. However, we are no longer sure whether future generations are safe, looking at how we are running around both at the national and county governments, seeking loans that go to waste. There is the issue of public participation that is a constitutional requirement. However, how seriously it is being taken by governments at both levels is something to question. In the old days, barazas were held and members of the public had a chance to talk and give their views. A District Commissioner (DC) would attend the baraza with his team and go back without claiming anything because he was still operating within his jurisdiction. Today, the amount of wastage being experienced as a result of the public participation forums is mind-boggling expenditure. We must hire tents, entertain people and do a lot of launching, including launching things which are obvious. Why is it after a county government has already approved loans or bursaries to be issued to students, the whole county comes to a standstill to launch something that has been there and which will continue being there? The public forums are a continuation of campaigns. Members of the public are invited. At the end of the day, they are induced by being given something small. Of course, public servants get their allowances. There is also a feeling of the “big man” syndrome. What type of culture are we encouraging in our society; that in every public participation forum, there has to be payment? The public is invited to give their views and not to be paid. No wonder, the primary purpose of the forum has become for purpose of satisfying members of the public by giving them something small in appreciation of their attendance. There is no service we can effectively perform without discipline. Discipline goes with training. It is unfortunate that in the current era, officers are recruited and directly placed in jobs without any form of training or induction. It must be a requirement under the regulations in this Bill that every officer recruited, regardless of the level, even if it is a Cabinet Secretary, undergoes some form of training to induct them on the requirements of the law we will enact. With regard to the the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), unfortunately, some people have been recruited; even at the highest level, but they do not know any Government regulations. By the time they get to learn, they have already messed up and are taken to court or investigated and yet this is not their fault. These people were not trained. It is important for officers who are recruited to be trained, first, on financial management and, secondly, on how to manage human resources. Some officers, once recruited, want to sack everybody they found in their offices. For the rest of the time, they are there, they are busy fighting fires, trying to gather information against other officers and transferring them. 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."
}