Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 618748,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/618748/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Committees which will enable us realize this function of oversight. So, our Committee on County Public Accounts and Investments should not be like the one of the National Assembly, which waits for the Auditor-General’s reports and works from those reports. We know very well that the Auditor-General’s reports are basically audits which are done in the office; checking the procedures and all that but at the county level, the main issue is on the ground. How do the funds allocated to that county translate to development or delivery of service on the ground? So, we need to make use of the county assemblies. Unlike the National Assembly, we have counterpart assemblies which could assist us in generating this oversight role. Having similar county assembly committees carrying out physical audits of the activities on the ground is crucial. From there, we could see what is being done right throughout the budget process; whether there was involvement of the public in prioritization of those projects in first place. That is one area which one of the Senators who spoke before me was alluding to, where you have projects which are not priorities of the community. So, how did those projects end up in the budget or the work plan of that county if they are not a priority of the community? Therefore, we have to start from there. We have to check how the procurement process is done because that is also another area where there is nepotism in most of the counties. That is why we feel that governors are busy rewarding their cronies through that process which is not transparent. Having the county assembly on the ground, they could easily see what is going on and question the executive at that level. This will ensure that the procurement process at the county level is fair and allows each and every Kenyan who is qualified and posses the necessary registration required to bid for a project has equal chance. It should not be the unwritten rule that only those who are on good terms with the governor or an executive officer get tenders or jobs. That is what is happening on ground. People have lost hope in getting jobs in the counties because it is not what you are worth or experience in terms of work but who you know. That is what matters. It is not procurement procedures but underhand dealings which the county assembly committees at that level could easily unravel and which could easily be brought to the attention of the Senate committees like this one so that they can follow up. We also have cases where the actual projects are implemented because that cannot be captured by the Auditor-General’s Report. So, we need to liaise with the relevant committees like the Public Accounts and Investments Committee at the county assemblies. They should carry out physical audits of the works which have been done. In my county, towards the end of last year, the county assembly was engaged in an exercise of physical audit of projects for the first financial year after the elections; that is 2013/2014, to establish whether what was in the budget was translated to the ground. From what I am hearing, it is an interesting report which I hope will reach the Senate. From there, we can have a way of engaging the county government through the county assembly. I urge those who are in the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee to develop those kind of relationships with the county assemblies so that we will not feel helpless when the governors are not doing the right thing; that, we do not have facilitation to audit what they are doing, then we just wait for the Auditor’s report The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}