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{
    "id": 950317,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/950317/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 208,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kimilili, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Didmus Barasa",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1885,
        "legal_name": "Didmus Wekesa Barasa Mutua",
        "slug": "didmus-wekesa-barasa-mutua"
    },
    "content": "want to call a root cause analysis report that will identify the areas where the pilferage took place, and the loopholes in the system that these people are using to siphon money. That way, you will be in a position to come up with corrective action. We want to see a scenario where this House is engaged in reviewing policies and procedures that emanate from investigation reports in order to block the loopholes that people are using to siphon money. As I said when I was beginning my contribution to this Bill, we must look into our Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), procurement and audit procedures. There are situations and scenarios where the Auditor-General has given a particular State corporation a clean bill of health as far as audit is concerned but later on, after some time, you realise that the same people are under EACC investigations. So, when pilferage happens and when this country loses money, as a country, we must come up with a report that will assist this country prevent recurrence of such vices. This can only be possible if the identified loopholes are closed. If we have flaws in the procurement system, those flaws should be mitigated against the review of the procurement system. If we have flaws in our IFMIS, then we must review and reprogram the IFMIS in order to seal the loopholes. If somebody breaks into my house and steals, I will move around to check. If there is any loophole in my fence or if the fence is not very high, I will review the situation and, say, increase the height of my fence. If the doors are made of materials that can easily be broken or cut into, then I should reinforce those particular materials that were used to make my doors and windows. This is exactly what should happen whenever this country loses money. We also need to give the EACC powers to prosecute because it is a body that has a responsibility to fight corruption in this country. They need to be convinced that a particular government officer is corrupt but, as it is, they rely on another agency to review their reports and take people to court. We should give them powers to prosecute. If they are convinced that a particular individual is corrupt or has siphoned taxpayers’ money, they should be able to take that person to court. I know that their efforts to fight corruption have been fought by the corruption cartels. I do not think the fine of Kshs1 million that this Bill proposes is going to deter corrupt individuals in this country. We know very well that we have people who have stolen millions of shillings even up to Kshs300 million. This proposal makes it very easy for culprits; they will be required to pay Kshs1 million only. That is not enough to deter people from stealing from Government. What is important is a complete audit system which will identify areas with risks and loopholes. We also need to review our systems to provide early warning signs so that immediately money is lost, the system is able to detect. People who are in charge of various sections should also be able to detect, say, invoices being falsified or people planning to pay for services that were never rendered. That way, it will be easy to prevent the loss of money. This country must invest in the prevention of corruption as opposed to spending too much money in prosecuting those who are found to have stolen money. We have been told every time that the Director of Public Prosecutions is pursuing money that particular individuals in particular institutions have stolen, but at the end of the day it is never clear as to whether the money that was stolen is recovered or not. We must also be able to know the amount of money or assets that are recovered in a particular period of time. We must also know how the money that has been recovered is spent. If we do that, we will avoid a scenario where some agencies recover money and assets which are then embezzled. Such recovery ends up not assisting the people of this country. With this, I support but I am waiting for the Committee of the whole House to bring in amendments to make this Bill better than it is. I thank you. 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."
}