Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 611761,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/611761/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 154,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Langat",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 384,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Kipkirui Langat",
        "slug": "benjamin-langat"
    },
    "content": "independence if we have another commission--- In the Constitution, the PSC is independent. The Auditor-General, although he is an individual, he is a unique kind of an independent office. He is an individual but an office at the same time. We need to ensure that we give it independence in terms of looking for staff and employing of staff so that, that independence is not jeopardized. We do not want the Auditor-General to give us excuses like “I wanted to do this but because the PSC has not done this, I have not been able to do this”. We will look at those clauses in consultation with all the stakeholders and the Ministry of Finance; we will look at how we can safeguard this independence in terms of staff. The Bill proposes that the Senior Deputy Auditor-General will be recruited by the Auditor-General but appointed by the PSC. There will be serious concerns in terms of how that person will be loyal to the Auditor-General. We need to ensure that in the recruitment of Senior Deputy Auditor-General, the Auditor-General and the advisory board have the say. I know in the issue of funding or budget process, the National Treasury will want to say they have limited resources but if we have a Budget of Kshs.2 trillion and we give less than 0.001 per cent for the purpose of guarding funds, this will be a joke. We need to give it sufficient resources. We need to establish a system where Parliament and the Auditor-General will discuss the budget of that office; Parliament will give sufficient resources, so that we do not risk that office getting curtailed. Under Clause 40, there is the issue of audit of national security organs. Yes, we must maintain confidentiality. We must not disclose our security details but this House should know that all previous corruption cases have come from security related procurement. This time round, we need to ensure that we maintain confidentiality, but we strike a balance. We must also ensure that procurement in the security sector complies with procurement procedures and must be audited to avoid rampant corruption, which has been reported severally. There is another issue which I want to raise as I finalise because I do not want to talk much. The Office of the Auditor-General can only recommend. This House needs to come up with a procedure of following up audit queries. We have a lot of recommendations in our files; year after year we see the same recommendations. I want to challenge the House, especially the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Investments Committee (PIC) to give us recommendations as a House on how we can ensure follow-up; we can ensure that when the Auditor-General reports, tomorrow we see an improvement. We want to see Government financial statements which are reported on as in the private sector. We want to see one day our Government financial statements receiving what we call in accounting sector “unqualified reports,” meaning the auditor was satisfied that all procedures were followed and all funds were used properly. Therefore, I want to tell the PAC and the PIC that we need recommendations on how we can make ensure that follow-up and action are taken on the recommendations of the Auditor-General. Otherwise, this office needs the support of this House in terms of the budget, legal framework and any other support that this House may give. I have already said that this is our very strong partner. We cannot succeed without the Office of the Auditor-General and the Auditor-General cannot succeed without Parliament. Therefore, I want to call upon the House to support this Bill. 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."
}