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{
    "id": 952883,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/952883/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 316,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I must say that devolution will never achieve its purpose unless we deal with this dragon called corruption. That is the truth and the fact, and we cannot run away from that. We need to have the approach of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). We do not need to pick all cases of counties; dealing with others half-heartedly and then picking the next one. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my case in point is that I sat in CPAIC that interrogated the affairs of the Nyamira County Government. One of the issues that was raised was with regard to construction in a market, where the financial drawings indicated that some timing had been done in that market. The people protested saying that had never been done. When the governor appeared, I made a case that we visit the Nyamira County Government Headquarters, have a look at that building and then make a conclusion. It is almost one year down the line. I am told that my governor is coming tomorrow. Again, he will appear there and we will hear stories. That does not inspire confidence in our people. There are serious issues. Another case was the issue of a borehole, where the auditor raised an issue saying that there was budget allocation and money was paid to drill a borehole. However, there is no borehole or water. The best way to make people have confidence in the Senate is for us to do a visit to counties. Let us visit counties and put governors to task. We can question the governors against what the auditor has said and the positon on the ground. From there, we can summon the DPP here and ask why he has not taken those people to court, because they have been paid money for services not rendered. That is what we are looking for. Let me tell this House that people in counties want to see blood being drawn. They want to see the governors who have stolen their money in jail. That is the spirit. Unless we do that, we will never achieve what the justice system is meant to achieve, that is, deterrence. Unless we see some governors locked up behind bars, they will continue stealing money that is meant to improve the livelihoods of poor people. We are talking about poor and vulnerable people. The money being stolen is meant for health services and improvement of agriculture, so that we can improve the livelihoods of our people. This is not something that we, as leaders, can take lightly. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to make a strong appeal to Members who serve in the CPAIC that let us also be men and women of integrity. At times when a governor is scheduled to appear before the CPAIC, we read online that people are saying that they have been told that a certain Senator is meeting the governor before the CPAIC meeting takes place. This should not happen. We see these things, and it is really giving a very bad name to this House. Let us have rules of operation. If you serve in the CPAIC, for God’s sake; if a governor calls you to meet him or her at the Intercontinental Hotel, do not go there."
}