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{
    "id": 932675,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/932675/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 357,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the adoption of this very important Motion. I was hoping that every Senator would be here today, because I have sat in all the sessions, apart from either one or two of them, dealing with the issues of Financial Year 2013/2014 to a point where we thought we should start looking at the current reports. Whenever I meet a former governor, the first thing that comes to mind is; what will happen to this governor when Article 226(5) of the Constitution finally catches up with him? One of the main observations that I noted, going through various volumes of the Auditor-General’s reports, was the lack of competence in the county government financial management. When governors appear before us, it is as if it is the first time they are hearing that there are pieces of legislation called the Public Audit Act, the Public Procurement and Disposal Act (PPDA), or even the Constitution, in that case. When you ask the governors whether they were familiar with the audit process, most of them will tell you, “No.” In fact one former governor I met said, “If you ask me today to comment on things that happened when I was the governor, where will I start?” My message to them, and this is part of an observation or hopefully a recommendation, is that they have to make right where they went wrong. This is money that belongs to the public. Currently, we are having serious challenges in terms of paying bills. When you go to each and every county, there are stalled projects which will never be completed. All these are noted in these reports that we have worked on diligently, day in and day out, so as to ensure that there is continuity and proper accountability. Additionally, there are certain observations that we made where when you look at the Auditor-General’s reports, many of the governors will say: “At least this year, we have received a qualified opinion.” They then believe that a qualified opinion means they have spent the money wisely. Most governors were shocked when we made it clear to them that a qualified opinion only means that you did, to some extent, provide the documentation which the Auditor-General was seeking. As I support this Report, I believe that the EACC and also the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will have fun reading the recommendations so that they can follow the money to the former and current governors. My message is very clear as I support this Report: That where you have misappropriated public funds, it is about time for you to 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."
}