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{
    "id": 550045,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/550045/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill must ensure that the Auditor-General we are establishing in this Bill is different from the ones who have been there in the past. This country is awash with cases of corruption. As I speak, corruption is endemic in all walks of life, particularly in Government Ministries and counties. All this is because the Office of the Auditor-General is lurking. It is not performing. We hope that with the passing of this law, this office will function as it should and this is indicated in various clauses of this Bill. As you may be aware, it is now over two years since county governments were established. I can tell you, for a fact, that there are many county governments which have not seen an officer from the Auditor-General’s Office auditing their accounts. Therefore, the county governments that this House is supposed to look after have been left alone to go round and spend money without any auditing. All this is because the Office of the Auditor-General has not posted auditors in the counties. The blame is not entirely on the Auditor-General because he has been on record claiming that he has been starved of funds to audit government institutions. Therefore, even as we pass this Bill, it must be very clear to the National Assembly that the Office of the Auditor-General must be adequately funded so that it carries out the audit it is supposed to do. As it is, the Office of the Auditor-General is basically in Nairobi and in former provinces and has not audited adequately. That is why I continue to say that corruption has become endemic. That is why people misappropriate public funds and get away with it. That is why public finances are misappropriated and we are told about it five to ten years later when, in fact, those accused of misappropriating the funds are no more. The Office of the Auditor-General has let this country down. We hope that in the passage of this Bill, the Office will move fast to establish audit units at all county headquarters so that county governments are audited as a matter of routine and not once in a while. I repeat that lack of audit is responsible for misappropriation. Lack of audit is responsible for all the ills that are happening in Government. I was reading a report this morning which traces most corruption cases in procurement. We are appropriating billions of shillings to county governments which have gone to shopping sprees and all manner of things. There is no auditor there who can stop them from doing what they are doing. We have been crying and the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee is always lamenting. Governors are summoned, but refuse to appear. Yesterday, Dr. Khalwale went to Kiambu and was threatened by the Governor. How long will we run the country like this when people do whatever they want to do without anybody policing their actions? 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."
}