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{
    "id": 523341,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/523341/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 174,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Pukose",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1458,
        "legal_name": "Robert Pukose",
        "slug": "robert-pukose"
    },
    "content": "Under Clause 9(d), the proposed Public Procurement Regulatory Authority will undertake monitoring of classified procurement information, including that of security organs, and make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary. You are monitoring classified procurement information and giving it to the Cabinet Secretary, who is answerable to the appointing authority, namely; the Executive. How do you expect such information to be used by the Cabinet Secretary to ensure that proper procurement procedures are followed? In the past, corruption thrived in Government because procurement was shrouded in secrecy. Corrupt officials would withhold information required by the Controller and Auditor-General on the basis that it was classified information. Even the Bill on the Office of the Auditor-Generals, we are talking of the Auditor-General not being able to audit security tenders. Therefore, this is an area we need to look into very carefully, as parliamentarians. We need to bring an amendment because if we are going to give classified procurement information to the Cabinet Secretary, there will be no way of ensuring that corruption is eliminated. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, my other bone of contention is on the composition of the Board and its quorum. The Bill provides that three members of the Board can form a quorum. This is a challenge, given that the majority of the proposed 15 Board members will be appointees of the Cabinet Secretary. This is not good. The fact that most of the Board members will be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary means that there will be no independence in that Board. Such a Board will be unconstitutional since the current Constitution clearly stipulates on how to appoint the membership of such a Board. The proposed Authority will be in charge of trillions of shillings. We must ensure that there is independence within the Board. We must also ensure that part of it forms the tribunal because the Public Procurement Oversight Authority has not performed well in terms of handling the many complaints that have been forwarded to them. Some of the complaints have ended up in court, leading to delays in implementation of projects. We need to cure this problem by giving independence to the proposed Authority. As hon. Nyokabi suggested, we need a tribunal that can listen to its clients. The tribunal should not be part-time; it should exist permanently because people will be raising issues of improper tendering processes across the country. The tribunal should be able to expedite cases relating to such complaints, dispose of them in the shortest time possible and come up with solutions that will make it possible for projects to be completed quickly to make the process both efficient and cost- effective, as stipulated by this Bill."
}