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{
    "id": 742791,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/742791/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 181,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Emanikor",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1092,
        "legal_name": "Joyce Akai Emanikor",
        "slug": "joyce-akai-emanikor"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this chance. As I support this 21st Report of the PIC on the Audited Accounts of State Corporations, I appreciate Hon. Keynan and his Committee for the good work they have done in the 11th Parliament. It is not easy to scrutinise the accounts of different organisations. Hon. Speaker, I support the recommendations put forth by the Committee. Looking at the different challenges that State corporations face, including failure to submit statutory deductions, they should not be allowed to accumulate these debts as this is what has increased their debts. There is the issue of protecting assets of State Corporations because they are public assets. There is a tendency by senior officials of State corporations and board members to illegally acquire the assets. There is need to devise mechanisms of protecting those assets. With regard to the issue of expenditure beyond approved budgets, as we look forward to the 12th Parliament, there should be strict measures of doing thorough rationalisation in State corporations even if it means reducing the staff so that we remain with a few who are productive. It means that the Government will have to fund retrenchment. If that will save our State corporations, then that should be done. The anomalies in procurement procedures are very common, and we should surcharge officers who engaged in these anomalies. Finally, I would like t to speak to the issue of appointment of board members. The Committee has correctly said that it should be timely because the lacuna that is created before the next board is appointed usually is a recipe for malpractices by the management. So, the appointment of board members should be timely but also staggered so that we have the institutional memory. However, for regional State corporations, the appointment should consider the regions of jurisdiction. A good example is Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) where we have about 10 directors. The Authority covers six counties only and yet some of the counties under its jurisdiction are not represented in the Board. Board directors who come from the region can do a better job. Turkana, for instance, is left out and yet it accounts for 80 per cent of the area that KVDA operates. So, this is another thing that we need to seriously look at in the coming Parliament. Thank you, Hon. Speaker."
}