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{
    "id": 611768,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/611768/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 161,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Gikaria",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2489,
        "legal_name": "David Gikaria",
        "slug": "david-gikaria"
    },
    "content": "The Office of the Auditor-General is a very important office in this country. It is very unfortunate that so much has not been done in this office regarding corruption for so many years. This is because, as we have the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General, who has the responsibility of going through the accountability of every public institution, has always fallen short of what they are supposed to do. So many matters have been raised in Parliament and in other areas regarding the Office of the Auditor-General. One of the issues that have always been raised is about the finances – that they do not get enough finances and qualified staff to carry out this very important function. Hon. Deputy Speaker, if you look at what is happening in the country now, it is just because of the laxity of this very important office. So much money has been given to both the national Government and county governments. A study which came out the other day showing how counties have managed their resources is shocking. It indicated that most of this money cannot be accounted for. An allegation has been made – I do not know whether it is true or false – that if the Auditor- General walks into your office to do an audit, there is always a briefcase for them to carry. It is a matter of how much money a public institution has misappropriated and how much money is the auditors’ cut. It is an allegation which cannot be justified, but going by what has been happening, I think there is some truth in it. I hope that this constitutional Bill is going to bring some changes. There are a few issues which have been raised regarding the establishment of the office, and how it is supposed to work. First of all, I want to comment on the functions of this office. As has been stated in Clause 7--- It is to give assurance to the effectiveness of internal audit. There is no point of us going to check where money has already been lost. It is important for us to have internal mechanisms that can be used to raise the red flag whenever necessary, and indicate that if we are not careful, we are going to lose a lot of money. Parliament has taken over the responsibility of the Auditor-General in some places. Some of the committees have raised the red flag, and we have stopped projects where we could have lost money. If this aspect is going to give assurance of effective internal audit, then we are very certain that our money will not only be safe, but will not be “eaten”. I was told about what used to happen in Singapore. The government decided not to go after the people who had stolen its money; instead it would first do an audit or make a follow-up. This is what this Bill will be able to do once it is enacted into law. Secondly, the Office of the Auditor-General should undertake audit activities not only in the national Government but also in the county governments as well as in all other public institutions. This is where the bulk of corruption takes place. If they are given this function through this proposed law, then I believe that most of the money will be saved. Under Clause 7 the Auditor-General has to satisfy himself or herself that all public money has been used and applied to the intended purposes. This is where we lose a lot of our money; we have given you a lot of money to do development; instead you use other 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."
}