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{
    "id": 549803,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/549803/?format=api",
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    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we cannot say that the Auditor-General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority in carrying out his or her functions under this Constitution or the Act and on the same breath say that their salaries are subject to the SRC because that is where they pull the strings and play poker. We must insulate the Auditor-General’s office from the office of the SRC. I have also seen something very dangerous and risky. Before I go to that dangerous and risky one, the clause that brings in the SRC is Clause 16(1). It says: “The Office of the Auditor-General may recruit such other staff as may be necessary for proper discharge of his or her functions, and may determine the salaries, in consultation with the SRC.” It is also mentioned elsewhere that their staff will also be subject to the SRC direction. That point is clear and we need to deal with it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Clause 20 gives the Auditor-General the power to seek production of any official document in anybody’s possession and custody for purposes of audit. This is very important. I have seen penalties elsewhere. It must carry very stiff penalties for public officers who frustrate audits. We have had cases, you remember, in the bad old days of impunity, where auditors went to audit a public entity and dogs were unleashed on them. We had also cases where they went to audit and were locked in an office and the boss went away. They stayed there the whole day then they were unlocked in the evening and told to go away, never to come back. We must take care of this. There must be very stiff penalties for these purposes. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you heard me talk about the issue of adequacy of staff in Clause 8. You then find the mischief in Clause 22 where we are saying that the Auditor-General should outsource auditors. There is absolutely no need for this. Unless the Auditor-General is carrying out a forensic audit that he may find that in this new era and new area of digital frauds and so on, you need to get some external expertise to conclude your forensic audit---. There is absolutely no way you can rely on externally hired auditors to do the work of the Auditor-General for the simple reason that those you hire out there, many of them, the quality of their work will be dependent on the remuneration that you give them. It is only fair that the auditor’s office is given enough resources to hire enough staff. In fact, and Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. should also think of a clause that obligates the office of the Auditor-General to have a functioning office in each and every of the 47 counties to support audit services and to track the expenditure and use of public resources. This is so that the people of this country can have value for money. We will not stop this by giving the Auditor-General an opportunity to hire external staff to do his work. In fact, the money we want him to hire external staff with to do his work, is the money we should give him to hire adequate staff to do work with necessary guarantees and protection. Clause 22 of the Bill must be looked at and be re-examined very carefully. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is established an Audit Supervisory Board. The Audit Advisory Board should be chaired by the Auditor-General himself or herself as the constitutional head of the institution. It is inconsistent with the aspirations of the letter and spirit of the Constitution to bring an external person to chair an Advisory Board that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}