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{
    "id": 871693,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/871693/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 991,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "One thing that, this House and the general public need to understand is that as a Committee, there is very little that we can change because we cannot change what the Auditor-General has already established. The biggest problem that we have is on the issue of implementation. I would want to urge my colleagues in this House to take their time to look at the reports of the Auditor General. I saw the documents that were tabled in this House yesterday. We have about 20 reports. We will have to sit down and look at them then come up with recommendations at the end of the day that have got to be implemented. However, we do not have an implementation Committee. We need that committee in place for us to work diligently and have the people who are in the county governments who expect us to call their governors here to explain how they spent the money satisfied. There is huge misconception out there where people expect us to call a governor at any time and have them come. I wish we could do that, but the reality is that we have a lot of backlog. The first Committee did not do much because there was a fight between the Governors and the Senators, which eventually the Supreme Court was able to pronounce itself on. I want to thank the leadership for looking at the work that we did last year. They consequently proposed that they retain us for another year; that is a lot of honour. Everyone in this House and the public should ensure that there is fiducial responsibility. There is a lot that we can do. That Committee last year – and I hope we will be able to do that this time around – worked on a fiduciary risk report. The report was very clear that in most county governments, the governors were not following the Public Audit Act, the Public Procurement and Disposal Act and even the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act. I, therefore, hope that this time around, as we sit here and say, “I wish that the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) can do their job faster;” it behoves all of us, as Senators, to look at the Auditor-General’s Report. There is a lot of confusion between the Auditor-General and the Controller of Budget. I have a Bill in this House, which I hope particularly the Senate Majority Leader will support me on. It is the County Oversight Bill. This is a Bill that was fought heavily by the governors during the public participation exercise because they do not want to be questioned on how they are using their money. We are talking about involving the Controller of Budget. I was listening very keenly to the Senate Majority Leader when he was saying that the Controller of Budget ought to be a friend of this House; it is true. However, we ought to reduce this into legislation. We have to involve the communities out there in the budget making process. Currently, our communities are not involved in this process. You will find that even Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) will start talking about their Ward Development Fund. We can do away with this argument of ward development funds if we involve the community in the budget making process. Consequently, each MCA will be saying: “At the end of the day, I expect that certain projects will be delivered by this county government that I serve in.” The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}