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{
    "id": 650683,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/650683/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 240,
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    "content": "tough first year, in terms of putting in place the necessary structures and enforcing the new laws. Some of these laws were being tested for the first time. The audit findings and the reports of the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) also confirmed this state. In Homa Bay, the Auditor-General has come up with some findings around human resource, payroll, not adhering to some of the laws that had just been enacted and also not adhering to procurement procedures. Because of the learning nature of the first year of devolution, it is fair to give the governors some little amount of latitude such that even if they killed during that period, we would consider it manslaughter rather than looking at it as murder, considering the difficulties they had at that point in time. However, there are certain acts of omission or commission that cannot go unchallenged and they have been brought up very clearly in this Report. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are certain acts that make me feel that I should look at them as murder rather than manslaughter for a county like Homa Bay that suffers the huge brunt of HIV/AIDS. We have the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the country and, probably, globally. When you start seeing avenues through which people are using to syphon funds from public coffers, you start feeling like they are committing murder because they deny thousands of people access to medical care. I will give you an example from the Report by the CPAIC that is based on the Auditor-General’s Report. The county procured 306 hatcheries. These were supposed to be given to 227 groups. The total cost of this venture was Kshs123 million. Quick mathematics will tell you that each of the 306 hatcheries was purchased at an average cost of Kshs404,000. Many of us in this House have been in politics for a long period of time. From time to time, chances are you have bought hatcheries and donated them to women and youth groups and other stakeholders. I have done a market survey and I have sought proforma invoices from providers and suppliers of hatcheries. None of those suppliers has quoted to me anything close to Kshs400,000. The average cost of a hatchery starts from Kshs150,000 going all the way to Kshs200,000. You will find that a county has procured 300 hatcheries at a cost of Kshs400,000 each. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the tragedy is that the CPAIC did not really interrogate that particular matter. The CPAIC and the Auditor-General confined themselves to finding out whether restricted tendering was used or the provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act were used. They did not do a deep dive to ask what kind of a hatchery is sold for Kshs400,000. Is it a hatchery that can fry an egg or manufacture feed? This is an avenue that has been used to syphon funds from public coffers. If you take an average cost of a hatchery to be Kshs200,000 and you spend Kshs400,000, you are looking at a potential loss of close to Kshs60 million just like that. I said that we could call it manslaughter in the first year, but I am beginning to be convinced that this is murder of the people of Homa Bay. Indeed, if there was padding of the invoices, Kshs60 million could have helped a lot of mothers and many people suffering from HIV/AIDS. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the CPAIC reports indicate that when they went to the ground, they found that some of the hatcheries were deployed in areas without The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}