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{
    "id": 522685,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/522685/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 93,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mulu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "process. These delays have led to very low absorption rates of the budget, and serious challenges in budget implementation. The third one is the high level of corruption associated with procurement processes. What has, therefore, happened over time is having a lot of resources leaking out of the Treasury as a result of procurement. When I was reading through this Bill, I was trying to analyse and see how and to what extent this Bill will help this country address some of these challenges. There are some clauses in this Bill which are very important, and are going to go a long way in addressing some of these challenges. When you look at Clause 3 of this Bill, you will realise that it is grounded on very important national values and principles. One of the values and principles is the whole issue of equality. This makes sure that all Kenyans participate in this important exercise as we procure goods and services in this country. The other thing is the principle of integrity. As Kenyans, through this Bill, we must ensure that this principle is adhered to. The other very important principle is ensuring that the procurement process is manned by professionals – people who appreciate the process and have expertise in this field. The other one is to ensure we promote our local suppliers and the economy as we procure goods and services. When you look at Clause 52 (2) of this Bill, as a way of ensuring that inefficiencies are also addressed, the Bill provides for preparation of an annual procurement plan. I have been a member of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, and some of the challenges that we have is that we appropriated resources to different agencies, departments, Ministries and agencies, which were not even clear on what they were going to procure. It will make a lot of sense if we have procurement plans being prepared on time. This Bill provides for that situation by demanding that procurement plans be prepared on time. The other thing that is going to address inefficiency in this country is Clause 45, which makes provision for consortium procurement or buying. This Bill encourages agencies to procure as consortiums, so that they can pool resources together; they should procure as consortiums whenever they are procuring the same item. In this case, agencies will automatically enjoy economies of scale. In that way, we are likely to get more benefits as a result of this bulk procurement. Another thing which is important to promote in order to reduce inefficiencies is the idea of issuing what they are calling “quarterly market price index (QMPI). After every quarter, Treasury can release the QMPI through the Authority which has been proposed here. The QMPI will provide guidelines in terms of what needs to be procured. For this reason, Clause 53 (3) is very important and will go a long way in reducing inefficiencies. When it comes to addressing the unnecessary delays which are very common in the procurement process, and owing to the fact that these delays have really cost this country a lot of resources, there are some interesting and important clauses in this Bill. One of them is Clauses 109 which talks about e-procurement; we are saying that we can actually promote electronic procurement. By doing so, we will be reducing what we call “contact between one person and another”. It has been proved over time that when people do not get into contact things like corruption are reduced. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}