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{
    "id": 611748,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/611748/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 141,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Onyura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12833,
        "legal_name": "Michael Aringo Onyura",
        "slug": "michael-aringo-onyura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to also give my views on the Public Audit Bill. This is a very important Bill in terms of management and running of public affairs in this country and therefore, we need to look at it carefully, and make sure that the legal framework we are setting up, particularly the powers that we are seeking to give to this particular office, will be as effective as possible. The Office of the Auditor General is very important. This constitutional Bill, as it is, will assist us in ensuring that we give him the powers and the resources that he requires, in terms of both budgetary allocation and staff. It is important for us to ensure that the particular office is empowered and independent. One of the problems that we have within our various Ministries and other public organization is the level of wastage. We expect that if the Office of the Auditor-General is made effective and empowered properly, it will be able to bring down the level of wastage of public resources. There are also the areas of corruption and flouting of rules and procedures. One of the things that the Office of the Auditor-General needs to strictly deal with is that of systems and control. We do not expect this office to use the approach of the police, who just look for mistakes. The Auditor-General’s Office should concern itself with strengthening systems and making recommendations that will strengthen institutions. Some of the areas they need to look into carefully concern individual projects within the various departments. Some of the projects tend to take too long. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I have in mind road projects. Some of them, for some reason, which I cannot understand, tend to take very long. There is a road project in my constituency which was launched, or inaugurated at the time when the former Prime Minister was the Minister for Works. It is over 15 years ago. This road which is hardly 30 kilometers long is still not complete. At times you wonder what really happens. Is it because the planning was poor or the budgeting was not there, or could it be that money meant to go to such projects is diverted to other projects? These are areas that they really need to look at. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the other area that I would really wish this office to look at carefully is the issue of procurement. In this country, there is hardly any procurement project, or process, that goes right. Everything that involves procurement somehow has got all manner of anomalies. I do not know why this is happening but, perhaps, there are too many loopholes in this area of procurement that may need to be addressed by an office like the one that we are discussing and trying to empower today. Hon. Deputy Speaker, other issues that tend to also make it difficult to do projects that we would like to do are in terms of when funds are supposed to be disbursed. I am looking at what is happening even to our own Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) funds. As we are speaking we are into the seventh month of the financial year and what we have received is hardly 30 per cent of what we ought to get. It is difficult to 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."
}