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{
    "id": 522751,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/522751/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 159,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ochieng’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": "people who may not want to follow due process. I will be bringing amendments to ensure that the bodies set up within this particular Bill are immune from regulatory capture. Devolution of the services of the institutions set up under this law is very important. It will be important that the services of the regulatory authority, the review board and all other bodies set up here are devolved to the county level. What we have now as the review board is very important. However, the way the Bill is crafted would seem that we are going to be incapacitating it. We have put a limit on the membership of that board and we are still hoping that this membership will be able to travel the whole country and give service. I think we will need board members in situ within the counties. Procurement goes on within the counties and constituencies every day. So, I do not see why if there is a procurement issue in Ugenya, someone should want to come to Nairobi. If there is a procurement review board in Siaya County, then this board should be able to handle these functions other than have someone travel to Nairobi. The cost involved is huge. There is very serious innovation in Clause 55 of the Bill. This is the capacity of a procuring entity to use the list of suppliers of another State organ. This is very important because where time is of essence and where it will take a long time or where a body procuring may not have developed enough capacity to be able to identify these kind of services--- Here I am talking about bodies working in the same areas like energy, agriculture or infrastructure. In Kenya today if, for example, the Kenya National Highways Authority has pre- qualified an institution and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority thinks that the list of Kenya National Highways Authority is good for it, it can go for that. If the Kenya Roads Board thinks that the list done by the Kenya National Highways Authority is good enough, then it can go for those lists instead of having to go through its own process for purposes of saving time and ensuring that things are done in the right way. This also helps the suppliers develop capacity. What does it help a supplier in a specalised area who only supplies an energy sector related project once in ten years while for example the services supplied could be used by the same bodies in the sector severally and develop expertise and probably reduce cost? I would request Government entities concerned that when this law passes, they should be able to use what we provide now in Clause 55 to enable them save time in this regard. There is also another provision which I wanted to talk about and it relates to the fact that where Kenya enters agreements, or signs treaties which have superior provisions, or that the Kenyan law that we are passing this month makes provisions that are not in tandem with those international agreements, then those international agreements supersede. This is all well and good. However, this is an area where we must have caution. I happen to be a trade lawyer and I know, for example, that Kenya is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but it has never signed onto the law called Government Procurement Agreement at the WTO. Members will then persuade you that since you are a member of WTO then you should be able to implement this. This would definitely limit your capacity to do things, for example, to promote something like the one we are doing now, that is, “Buy Kenya, build Kenya.” Now, if we have provisions in our law that talk about “Buy Kenya, build Kenya” and then we have signed 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."
}