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{
    "id": 647778,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/647778/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 251,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "a High Court and subordinate courts, if possible, in each sub-county so that justice is fairly dispensed. However, we have had challenges. We have had cases where the Chief Justice (CJ) goes to Homa Bay Town in the manner he did in 2013, does a ground-breaking ceremony and tells the people that the High Court is coming. At that time, we had budgeted for the High Court; only for the matter to be caught up in procurement and absorption issues of Government. Then we are told that the money has gone back to the Consolidated Fund. Senator Otieno Kajwang’ with whom we attended the ground-breaking ceremony with the CJ has passed on and three years later, we are putting money for the construction of Homa Bay Courts that we are being told, due to tendering requirement and procedures, we have certain problems. I hope I will not die before I see that court. The Judiciary will not continue burdening Parliament with a Budget of Kshs10 to 17 billion because we will now budget for a specific item in the Judiciary. If it is a High Court in Homa Bay, we set aside the money for it. They will be reporting to Parliament three months before the end of each financial year and also doing so to the Auditor-General so that audits can be kept so that the work expenses and progress reports are not delayed by payments of works getting suspended. Hon. Tunoi has spoken very well. If Parliament will remember, there was a court being constructed in Bomet at an outrageous amount of money of Kshs1.2 billion, and another one being leased somewhere. In 2014/2015, when we were questioning about the accounts of the Judiciary, we never knew whether we should consult the CJ over certain matters. A house was being purchased as a residence for the CJ, but he tells us that he did not know about it. The Finance and Administration Committee of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been forced to intervene on matters of administration of funds remitted to the Judiciary by Parliament from the Consolidated Fund, in a manner that even salaries of magistrates and judges are delayed for a month or two. The former Chief Registrar (Ms.) Shollei was claiming to have powers to do certain things and, at the same time, the Finance and Administration Committee also saying that they are the ones to authorise. For clarity, it is not by this legislation that the Chief Registrar is going to administer and account to Parliament and the audit office, but it is in the Constitution. This is a Fund that the Chief Registrar administers and accounts for solely so that the buck stops somewhere and we do not have an array of people we can consult over these issues. There is something that is important in that constitutional provision that has been imported into this Bill. The people of Kenya are saying that they want the judicial arm of the Judiciary to do judicial work. We want the administrative arm of the Judiciary to do administrative work. If we are dealing with matters of finance, we have the Chief Registrar. It is important to understand that financial administration is not a function of the Chief Justice or the Judges of the High Court."
}