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"id": 836968,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Limuru, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Peter Mwathi",
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"id": 104,
"legal_name": "Peter Mungai Mwathi",
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"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the chance to reply to this Motion, a Motion that I had really wanted to speak to but nevertheless have a chance now to reply to and probably tackle a few issues pertaining to Kenya’s missions abroad. I want to start by thanking all the Members who have supported the work of the Committee and who have spoken to issues arising from the Report and new issues which are quite informative and which we shall be able to take up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Treasury so that we can streamline the operations of the missions. It is worth to note that as the chairman alluded to, we have 54 missions abroad and I agree that we need to do an audit of their performance and how their output has been of help to Kenyans. At the same time, this Report deals with only 10 missions, some of them consulates, out of 54. That probably answers the question as to why we did not include the issue of Saudi Arabia, which various Members with diverse opinions have spoken to and which are very sensitive. I want to inform the House that we had intended to visit Saudi Arabia but at that time we did not have an ambassador there, and their calendar and ours did not marry. So, Saudi Arabia shall be visited. I thank every Member who says we need to come up with the correct information from that mission and, of course, from Kenyans living in that part of the world so that we can inform you properly. What has come out strongly is that the state of facilities in most of the missions is wanting. I have listened from speaker to speaker, including my own chairman, Hon. Katoo ole Metito, speak about the state of facilities, especially in New York. When he speaks about a façade of a mission being dilapidated, it is the image of the country which is dilapidated because the first impression, as Hon. Wamalwa said, is a lasting impression. The impression of these missions abroad is the image of our country. Therefore, just like the Majority Whip said, we need to address this matter going forward, especially with the Treasury because of funding, and with the Budget and Appropriations Committee. I have had occasion to meet officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. What we realised is that release of funding, especially for infrastructure development, kept on being delayed. First, the money is released to the Ministry; second, the Ministry releases it to the missions. That is why the Chairman spoke about forex deposit that appears. Once the exchange rate fluctuates, especially when it goes up, it means the amount allocated at the time it is transferred to the Ministry is not adequate to fund the budget once it is converted into forex. The other issue we found is that of delay in release of funds, especially for infrastructure, delayed procurement processes, which then delayed execution, which then delayed absorption. The Treasury, including in this last Budget, slashed the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on account of low absorption. That low absorption is brought about by the fact that they get the money late. So, they are not able to utilise all of it by the required time. As Members will find in The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}