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{
    "id": 550086,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/550086/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 228,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "May 13, 2015 SENATE DEBATES 36 Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill is critical. It intends to provide for the functions and powers of the Auditor-General according to Article 229 of the Constitution. If we get it wrong, it means that there will be no oversight in this country; corruption will thrive. Let me just point out to Members that a good football team, however, good the players are, without a good coach, that team cannot win. Therefore, a good Senate and National Assembly, however endowed, unless you have got the technical bench of the office of the Auditor-General with this legal instrument, cannot oversight the Government. I would like to laud the presence of this Bill but, unfortunately, tell the Senate Majority Leader that he is not taking us seriously. The views that we are giving are meant to enrich this Bill. Since he is not listening to us and we see so many faults in it, I have no option but to oppose the Bill until he moves it in an amended form, and I have reasons. The first reason is that no member of the Executive would like to be audited. I will tell you the story of the Seventh Parliament, when the Controller and Auditor-General made a report concerning the investment of funds at Teleposta, running in hundreds of millions of shillings and took it to the Treasury. The Minister for Finance refused to bring it to Parliament. The Controller and Auditor-General then took personal initiative and brought it to the office of the Clerk. The then Chair of the Public Accounts Committee did his work and when the report indicted the Minister for Finance, the following day, at 1.00 p.m. President Moi appointed the Chairman of the Committee to be a Minister, so that he could not move that report. Another example is in the County Government of Kakamega. The chairman of the committee on finance resigned yesterday because he was being pushed by the Governor to append his signature and concurrence to misappropriation. They do not want to be audited; we just have to face it. We have to divorce the executive from this office because this is our technical bench. I would like to draw the attention of Members to Clause 4 (3) of this Bill. We are being told that the Office of the Auditor-General shall ensure a reasonable access to its services in all parts of the country. That is good. But then the Bill goes further to say that this office is free to establish branches across the country. The risk of this is that if you allow the Auditor-General to open offices in those counties, then you are opening a window for compromise by the auditee. The auditees in the counties have got internal auditors. Why would we take their officers of the Kenya National Audit Office? Madam Temporary Speaker, in Clause 7 (1) (e), the Bill proposes that the Auditor-General will issue the audit report in accordance with Article 229 of the Constitution of Kenya. Without providing funds, the Auditor-General cannot meet this provision. If there is any doubt on the part of the Jubilee Government, they should be aware that the accounts of the year 2013/2014 are yet to be laid in this House by the Auditor-General, yet the deadline was 31st December, 2014, the reason being that he does not have enough resources at his disposal. So, we should match these provisions by giving him the proper budget and necessary human resource. Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to laud the provision in Clause 7 (2) where they have given room for the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the National Assembly, the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee in the 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."
}