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{
    "id": 663586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/663586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 89,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, I rise under Standing Order No.1 to seek your direction on a matter which touches on the image of this House and some Members of the House, including me. More particularly, it touches on my capacity as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). This morning, I woke up to a barrage of calls and criticisms in social media on a matter which is apparently in the public domain. This was to the effect that several Members of this House and staffers of Parliament have not been surrendering their imprests. I raise this matter because as PAC, we are about to table our Report for the 2013/2014 Financial Year accounts. One of the issues coming up almost through all ministries, departments and agencies is that of not surrendering imprests. It would be very contradictory of me, as the Chairman of PAC, to be one of those people who are not surrendering their imprests. When this matter came to my attention, I called the Secretary of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), Mr. Nyegenye. It appeared that the matter in question had to do with an imprest I took between 22nd June, 2015 and 1st July, 2015. This particular issue was picked up on 30th June, 2015, when I was out of the country. I do not understand how this issue could have come up because auditing of public institutions is not an event but a process. It starts with a letter of the Auditor-General. An initial meeting is called with the public institution. After that and after several months of engagements, there is the exit meeting, which determines the issues. This report, which I am told appeared in one of the newspapers in the country today, is unnecessarily sensational, false and alarmist. I do not think that can ever be the intention of an audit process. I have my imprest account with me here. It shows that my balance is zero. I will table it. When somebody alleges that the Chairman of PAC has outstanding imprest of Kshs176,193, which is the imprest I took for the Tanzanian trip as I read in one of the articles, it is not good. The intention of audit cannot be to disparage people in this manner. We are public 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."
}