Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 550106,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/550106/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 248,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "they do not move because they are limited in finances, which means they cannot get equipment, motor vehicles and qualified personnel to carry out their duties effectively. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have also talked about decentralization in view of devolution but again, this cannot be done without adequate funding. I suggest that the audit office must be protected in terms of budget. Their budget should be ring-fenced such that as they plan and proceed with their work, they are sure of what their budget is, just like their counterparts in revenue collection, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). The Act that established the KRA stipulates that, of the revenue that is collected, they are entitled to at least 2.5 per cent by the law. I also think that the audit office should have their budget pegged on a percentage of whatever funds they are auditing. I have talked about the added responsibility that they now have. I know that they have been of much assistance to Parliament because Parliament cannot oversight without the reports of the Auditor-General. Previously, it was just the National Assembly, now we have the Senate. So, it has to service the two Houses and that is additional responsibility. For the Senate to be effective in playing its oversight role, the assistance or quality of the work of the Auditor-General is very important because without their reports, oversight is not possible. Previous speakers have talked about decentralizing audit services. I also doubt, just as Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, whether decentralizing will help because familiarity may not work very well. If you assign specific officers to specific counties, possibilities of compromise can arise. We could consider that. Let that be the discretion of the Auditor- General. Madam Temporary Speaker, the issue of outsourcing is put here in the law. I do not know whether previously they were prohibited. It may not be necessary that it is spelt out in any legislation that they must outsource. In any case, if you are auditing, you can use any means to get information. Otherwise, if we legislate, there is a danger that all the work of the Auditor-General may go; it may be outsourced or contracted out. This will have a negative effect on the officers because they will feel demoralized and untrusted. Outsourcing should be done on rare occasions where, for instance, the officers have done their job but they are limited somewhere or you suspect that they have been compromised. The procurement of the firms to audit the accounts should also be done competitively and transparently to ensure that those in position do not favour their friends to do the audit for any purpose because compromise can also arise in that process. Madam Temporary Speaker, any audit system cannot succeed without the cooperation of the organisations that are being audited. I know that most organisations have internal audit departments. However, I think that it is very important that the internal audit to some degree be guided by the Auditor-General in terms of: What are the qualifications of those people who are working there? Are they conforming to the ethics? Are they doing their work of internal audit properly? If the internal audit departments were doing their job, then the work of the Auditor-General would be less but we are now seeing from time to time that the Auditor-General is more or less performing internal as well as external audit in most firms. It should be a requirement that all Government institutions have working internal audit departments that to some degree also answer not just to the management there, but they have a link with the Auditor-General. 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."
}