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{
    "id": 524935,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/524935/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 264,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nyenze",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1987,
        "legal_name": "Francis Mwanzia Nyenze (Deceased)",
        "slug": "francis-mwanzia-nyenze"
    },
    "content": "billions of shillings. However, because he does not have prosecutorial power, the cases have faded away with time, Kenyans forgot and moved on. The damage done to the economy by these big time corruption scandals is so enormous that it will take this country many years to recover. An audit is not an end in itself, but is a way of regulating and checking the Government, so that resources are spent well. An audit is very good in preventing scandals from taking place. It is very important, so long as it is done efficiently and effectively for the economy to grow. Governments are formed out of the will of the people. When Governments are formed, they translate that will of the people into creation of wealth and improvement of the people’s welfare. The Government of the day collects taxes and puts people’s wish list on the development agenda that the people have. That is why the Office of the Auditor-General is very important. This Bill, therefore, has come at the right time when we have devolved power and resources to the counties. We do not want to export the same old and grand corruption to the counties; I am afraid that this has been taking place because of inadequate funding of the Auditor-General’s Office. For the Auditor-General to establish branches in all the 47 counties, we need to re-look at his budget. I also want to say that the establishment of an advisory board is a very good thing for the Auditor-General. This is because the bodies that are involved, that is the Law Society of Kenya, Non-Governmental Organizations and ICPAK, among others, are professional bodies that will give advisory services to the Auditor-General, so long as the selection of those who sit on that board is done according to the proposals in this Bill. I also want to say that in this country we can solve so many problems through proper auditing. Currently we have had issues with Narok. We have seen very big demonstrations in Narok. If their accounts were audited properly and made available, that could be averted. Even in other areas where we have seen the Governors craving and advocating for Pesa Mashinani or CORD fighting for Okoa Kenya, if there were proper, timely and efficient audits most of these things could not have happened. The push for Pesa Mashinani or Okoa Kenya would not be necessary because the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) would have given the latest audited accounts for 2013/2014. Now, there should not be a conflict over the allocation to the counties. Automatically, the national Government should allocate more money to the counties because PAC, which is led by the Opposition, has given the latest accounts and we would go by that. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, if this office is to benefit this country by checking excesses, the proper usage of money and preventing corruption from taking place, we have to support it by giving it more money. The area I feel uncomfortable with in this Bill is on the appointment of the Senior Deputy Auditor-General and making him the accounting officer. If you look at the organisations that have done very well like the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), led by Mr. Keriako Tobiko, it has done very well because he is the accounting officer. He is the one who runs it and he runs it effectively. If the Auditor- General has no control of the resources and he is not the accounting officer, I am sure he will be undermined and his power will not be enough to carry out his mandate. So, I want Clause 16 to be relooked at, so that the appointment of the Senior Deputy Auditor- 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."
}