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{
    "id": 524818,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/524818/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 147,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Katoo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 199,
        "legal_name": "Judah Katoo Ole-Metito",
        "slug": "judah-ole-metito"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I also rise to support this very important Bill. A lot has been said about the Bill and, maybe, it is now good to talk about the general accountability of public resources. I would like to say - because this is what this Bill is trying to address – that in the recent days, the public interest in the management of resources of the public sector requires us to rethink our approach to public finance oversight. If you look at recent concerns of the public through the print and electronic media as well as the social media, people are really questioning financial malpractices covering the entire public sector. This is a sad state of affairs as we strive to become a middle income country in terms of economy by 2030. I am informed that we have already attained that but as we act on our blue print of Vision 2030, it will not be right to continue having such malpractices of public financial resources of that magnitude. Hon. Speaker, if you read the Constitution, we have so many commissions and State organs that are set up to check on those malpractices, especially with regard to financial misuse of public resources. We do not really want that trend to continue because every time, we are seeing increasing amounts of money going to waste despite having all those State agencies that have been set up to control it. The other question which this Bill should try to answer is: Should we continue using the same methods we have been using in yester-years to fight the war against fraud, corruption, wastage and abuse of public resources? Therefore, as we debate this Bill, I expect the concerned Parliamentary Committees of this House to ensure that we should depart from the past because we have not been efficient and effective in the war against wastage and abuse of public resources. For instance, what is happening with regard to corruption? I really do not want to blame anyone or pour cold water onto the ongoing fight against corruption and the objective of restoring order, good governance and accountability in the public sector, but the point I am trying to make here is that those institutions have either been too slow or too late in reacting to those malpractices in a very deterrent manner. Therefore, we need to empower that institution through this Bill so that it can always act on real time. It should become proactive. They should act on real time and stop the misuse of public resources. 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."
}