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{
    "id": 552251,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/552251/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 166,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Langat",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 384,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Kipkirui Langat",
        "slug": "benjamin-langat"
    },
    "content": "that for one to be an Auditor-General, he or she must have a minimum of postgraduate degree. The constitution is very clear. It has provided very clear academic qualifications on the Auditor-General. What the Senate proposed can be construed to mean denying a majority of Kenyans a chance to apply to be Auditor-General. The Constitution specifies that the President only needs to have a degree. It is too elitist and too exclusionist when you put a postgraduate degree as a minimum. At a relevant stage, I will ask the House to reject this proposal. A standard practise has been basic minimum first degree and the panel can decide on the others when they are interviewing. That is why we have an interviewing process which invites people and then the other qualifications can become added advantage. However, to put it in the law that you must have a minimum postgraduate, it is too elitist and too exclusionist. There was also a proposal which this House passed on the selection panel. When appointing the Auditor-General, we agreed that we should have a selection panel which has been provided already. I think the Senate was trying to fill a gap which we did not fill about who will chair. The Senate is proposing that the members should elect the chairman among themselves. However, if you look at the Constitution, the President is the appointing authority. There is nowhere where we should have a selection panel. However, we said that in order to improve on public participation, let us have that selection panel to invite applicants. We agreed that we should reject the amendment by the Senate that requires members to elect their Chairman. We said that it should be the President to appoint the chair because in the appointment of the Auditor-General, the buck stops with him. I will ask the House to again reject that proposed amendment by the Senate. Three is the proposed amendment to clause 19. The Senate is proposing that we amend Clause 19, subsection (2) by deleting the words “review and” appearing immediately after the words “each year for” at the end of the paragraph. This is about the budget estimates of the Office of the Auditor General (AG). If we were to accept what the Senate is saying, then it means that the AG can do a budget of any amount he wishes and then the purpose of the National Treasury is just to bring it to the National Assembly like a conveyor belt. In the Constitution of Kenya, there are only three arms of Government and they are Judiciary, Parliamentary Service Commission and the Executive which bring all the other budgets which have been provided for. It is the role of the National Treasury to do physical consolidation to ensure everybody is living within the set limits. But again, I think the fears are being expressed because we talked of the Office of the AG. The fear is that the AG seemed to be saying that Treasury might give them low funding. However, the National Assembly has the final say in terms of the budget estimates in the new Constitution. Those fears have no basis because this House will call everybody and will determine whether the AG has been given the necessary support or not. I will be asking the House to reject these amendments at the relevant stage which is the Third Reading. Clause 24 is dealing with the advisory committee. If you look at the Bill as passed by the House, we agreed that there has to be an advisory committee to advise the AG. It was the wish of my Committee earlier on that you stay out of that advisory team if you are being advised so that the advice is objective. At the end of the day and in the 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."
}