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{
    "id": 714932,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/714932/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Njenga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1510,
        "legal_name": "Francis Kigo Njenga",
        "slug": "francis-kigo-njenga"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to second the Report of the Committee on the BPS. I do this on the basis of the recommendation that the MTEF forms a cluster of Parliament, the Controller of Budget, the Auditor-General and the EACC. This has been practised in many other jurisdictions. In fact, in most cases, they get 6 to 7 per cent of the Budget, so that the oversight role is enhanced. In our case, if this would happen, we would drive home the point that we need to curb corruption. The major problem we have in the budget-making process in this country is that no one takes us through budgets of previous years to see how they performed as we embark on current budget proposals. With that kind of an arrangement, where all the major stakeholders, including all the oversight agencies of the Government are taken to account, we are likely to curb corruption as we will be obtaining feedback. We must also come up with a framework that will ensure only an amount of money that can be absorbed by a spending agency is allocated to that agency so as to curb wastage of public resources. The proposal to increase the allocation to the Office of the Auditor-General (AG) by Kshs1 billion is welcome. The Office of the AG plays a critical role in deterring corruption, enhancing accountability and stopping wastage of public resources. Over the years I have been in this House, the Office of the AG has continuously had an increasing budget but this year, we have decided to increase it by Kshs1 billion. This is to allow him to outsource audit services as well as employ more auditors. We expect that in future, the kind of reports that he has been producing, which cannot do anything to this great nation, will be a thing of the past. This morning, I read through the Audit Report for Rongai Constituency. On the face of the Audit Report, the AG talks about cheques that were not presented as part of the Report. That kind of reporting does not help Kenya. The only way of helping Kenya is to follow up and have such entries reversed before the Audit Report is prepared. That way, his statement can represent a true and fair view of the state of affairs of funds that are applied by the Government. Regarding my constituency, the other day I saw a newspaper story claiming that I have looted Kshs76 billion. This was cash at bank. The AG cannot, as a matter of fact, show cash at bank on the face of the balance sheet and at the same time seek schedules for what will be used in future. The Office of the AG should improve its performance. We have financed them sufficiently. They should help Kenyans by taking the accounting process to a higher level. Another very important thing is the issue of polytechnics. Developed economies have used polytechnics and their workers. I am very sure that even the Chinese we see working on our roads and other transport infrastructure have passed through polytechnics or other technical institutes. If we want to save our scarce foreign currency, we need to enhance training at our 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."
}