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{
    "id": 938586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/938586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 95,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Thank you. Mr. Speaker, Sir. The Statement sought by the distinguished Senator for Wajir is so important. We have been told by the Controller of Budget that outstanding pending bills in counties are now at an excess of Kshs120 billion. This is a lot of money. First, to have accumulated these pending bills is a violation of the law. The Public Finance Management Act is very clear that you cannot procure goods and services unless you have an attendant budget for it. Whoever is holding pending bills has already violated the law. Two and more importantly, I want to urge the Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Budget in which I am a Member, to take up this matter. Recently, two or three months ago, the President gave a directive. He did not give an opinion or make a Statement. He gave a directive that all pending bills must be paid. What is the value of a Presidential directive? If you go to the counties, I am sure each and every Senator in this House, is routinely visited by young people, women and all manner of people from their counties, asking them to help them to get paid.They go and borrow money, provide goods and services, and at the end of the day, no payment is made. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in fact, the devolution that everybody was looking at and expecting to devolve wealth to the grassroots has now become a nightmare. It is bankrupting people everywhere. Therefore, I want this Statement not just to pass. The distinguished Senator for Wajir and somebody else brought a similar Statement here before. The Committee on Finance and Budget should summon the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Finance, the Controller of Budget, and the Council of Governors (CoG). The Committee should speak with them, give them direction, and ensure that they must pay the pending bills. If this is not done, the Directorate of Public Persecutions (DPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) should step in and find out who, in their right senses, procured for goods and services without budgets to pay for them. Kenyans cannot continue suffering, taking loans from banks and shylocks; and now this reckless Government has removed the interest cap. Yesterday, some reckless bank manager gave a directive that they were now going to revise interest rates at will. The people are suffering and we must stop this suffering."
}