Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 693221,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/693221/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 100,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "governor, what does he do and why is he in that position? The relevance of that consideration is that it puts in context the various grounds, documents and decisions that are now subject of these grounds and proceedings. Without that contextual evaluation, most of these charges will be lost and will not find any understanding in the minds of this House. In Article 179 of the Constitution, there is a deliberate resignation of the governor as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a county. That is deliberate and intentional to ensure that the ultimate executive authority within the county vests in the governor. Within my reading of Section 30 of the County Governments Act – I do not need to read verbatim the very detailed provisions of that particular provision of statute – the governor is, in all ways, in charge of the executive functions within the county. Hon. Senators, the charges that are before you are grave, gross and weighty. Why do I say that? Consider the first charge and complaint. This shall be demonstrated in the evidence that shall be laid before this honourable House. That, there was non-disclosure of funds expended by the County Executive but not disclosed. Expended, yes. However, when the County Executive sat to write a report which does not come to the County Assembly by an act or grace or favour on the part of the Governor and the County Executive, it is a legal obligation. The legal obligation enjoins the County Executive to make a full and frank disclosure of all expenditures in the period under review. So, in this period under review, there is failure to disclose an expenditure in the sum of Kshs352,976,000. The question is, why not disclose? A simple act of disclosure. Accountability is not really a term of act. It is simple English. What you have been given, render an account of how you spent it. In that account, you must disclose to the last cent. You will see in the documents that are before this House, that there was an intentional non-disclosure of this very substantial amount. The reasons given – you will see in the response made by the Governor – are simply that; “I did not consider them to be capital expenditures or items.” So, whatever the nature and designation of an expense, the duty to disclose is inescapable in your accounting when you present a report to the assembly and to the public and say that this is the annual budget implementation status report. The expectation of your office and the public is that that account should be true in all material respects. That is not the only non-disclosure that you shall see. Exchequer releases – money from the National Treasury – are funds contributed by all of us within the country and apply to the various counties according to the formula that is given. In their implementation status report, they disclosed an amount almost Kshs1 billion less. It is about Kshs800,000,000 odd and we shall get the numbers as we prosecute the charges. The question is: Why is this insistence on hiding some numbers? What is the mischief? What is the justification? Why can you not put it all there in the report so that the County Assembly and the public decide and determine what to do with it? You cannot determine within yourself that this does not merit disclosure. There is no provision in law known to us that excludes any item from being disclosed. I am not prosecuting these charges but I wish to consider a report of this House that was made and adopted on 13th May, 2014 in the matter of the proposed removal from Office of Martin Nyaga Wambora, the Governor of Embu County. The Senate considered certain matters and made certain decisions. I am reminded that this is a House of order, precedence and follows its own regulation and rules. Therefore, the standards set out in this report will also be of relevance to the present proceedings. This is what the Senate said in that matter with regard to accountability:- 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."
}