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{
    "id": 932676,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/932676/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 358,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "start correcting. When we got to several counties which are noted here, beginning from Kiambu all the way down to Wajir, we found that projects were being undertaken which were not budgeted for. It is no wonder then that we have a lot of pending bills. They would have a budget and even request money from the Controller of Budget (CoB) to pay for projects which are budgeted for. However, when the money is finally transacted to their accounts, they end up paying for things which are not in the budget. This is a result of incompetence and lack of understanding as to why people are put there. I am sure that when they finally sit down and pay attention to the reports, the former and current governors will rush to the Senate tomorrow to get a copy of this Report, which we are now debating. This is because you will find that in most counties, as long the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are already out of office, they are like “it is none of my business.” They do not know that even the new governors who came in, and who are still their competitors, will not try to do anything to help them to fix their mess; so the mess is still with them. If a governor was defeated and he does not correct or try to mitigate on the issues pointed out by the Auditor-General, that issue will still be alive until the time when the EACC or the DPP catches up with them. On the issue of lack of discipline, we noted that a lot of counties deducted the statutory deductions, for example, the Pay As you Earn (PAYE), et cetera, but they never remitted it to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), to retirement bodies, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) or the National Social Security Fund (NSSF); yet they still have huge pending bills. This is an issue that I hope we can reign in on these governors and ensure that whatever amount of money is deducted from employees can be sent to the bodies that require that money. On this note, I would like to encourage Kenyans out there to check their pay slips and follow up so that they do not have to wait until the last minute when they have retired for them to look for their retirement benefits and they cannot get them or to even follow up with KRA. On the issue of pending bills, it is my hope that when these governors sit down and think about what it happening in this country--- I support 100 per cent and actually commend the current Acting Cabinet Secretary (CS) for the National Treasury and Planning for having instituted administrative measures to try and bring in sanity. If these governors can look at those bills, and pay off the ones that they believe are genuine, at least the KRA will be able to collect the money. This is because the moment the contractors have been paid, the KRA will also go after those contractors and collect money, thus enabling them to up their annual collection. Because of time and I know that we have another debate at 5.00 p.m., I would like to end by saying that it is imperative that the governors and the entire finance departments in all counties familiarize themselves with the four pieces of legislation. This is in order to ensure that they can account for all the money and literally use the money in the manner that it is supposed to be used. These four pieces of legislation are; one, the Public Audit Act, and is very important for them to understand the audit process. They can specifically go to Section 31 of that Public Audit Act. Two is the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, which is very important. In fact, when you think about the issues of reconciliation, the PFM Act requires county 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."
}