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{
    "id": 650685,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/650685/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 242,
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    "content": "electricity. There are electrical hatcheries that were given to youth groups in places where there is no electricity. In some areas, the things were kept and they were not being used. In some areas, the hatcheries were still sitting in the offices of MCAs. I know that the CPAIC has just been reorganised and Sen. (Prof.) Anyang'- Nyong'o has taken the mantle. The nation looks at this Senate as the last saviour of devolution. These are issues that sometimes county assemblies are unable to deal with because there are some local interests and governors are very good at taking care of those interests. It is this Senate that remains impartial. It is this Senate that the nation and people of Homa Bay are looking at today to ensure that we do not allow these kind of avenues for syphoning of funds. There was no feasibility study that was done. You spent Kshs120 million, but with no feasibility studies being conducted. You even use restricted tendering. You broke all the laws of procurement and all commonsense when it comes to implementation of projects. How I wish the CPAIC would have come out much more strongly rather than recommending a value for money audit to be completed within one year. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will give you a second example of a solar lighting project. In the report, it is called Okonyo Welo . That is a Luo term meaning, “the visitors have been assisted.” This was a noble initiative to put up solar lamps in 248 markets. The county government procured 800 solar-powered lamps to be deployed to 248 markets at a total cost of Kshs143 million. Interestingly, they set up the cost without including Value Added Tax (VAT). Again, this is another issue because later when payments are being made, VAT gets factored in. This gives you an average cost of Kshs207,000 for each solar floodlight. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as an aspiring governor, you must also have gone to the market to find out how much it would cost you to do some of these things for the benefit of your people. This amount is above the market price. That is a similar trend that we have seen with the hatcheries. The interesting thing is that the county went into a joint venture with a private company. Both the county and the private were supposed to contribute 50 per cent each. The county went ahead and paid Kshs80 million and the private player did not contribute a cent. This is a clear game where the county is providing money to finance a private individual, so that some loot can be shared out at the end of the day. Again, restricted tendering was used in this particular case yet the CPAIC recommends that we reprimand some people and that the Auditor-General conducts a value for money audit within a period of one year. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the CPAIC needs to be much more firm in its recommendations. This thing of being polite and at the end of the day, we are the last frontier when it comes to oversight and safeguarding public funds that have been sent to counties. The third example is that; the county government undertook various renovations and repairs totaling to about Kshs72 million. If you look at some of these repairs, you can clearly see a pattern of duplication. Just allow me to refer to some of them. The county spent Kshs10 million to purchase furniture and Kshs4.3 million to renovate the 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"
}