Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 973336,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/973336/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 293,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Erick Munyao Ngumbi established that Kenya indeed has in place some legal framework for lifestyle audits. Some of those frameworks include those Acts that have been cited or that have been referred to in this Bill by Sen. Farhiya, including the wealth declaration approach which is in the Public Officer Ethics Act, the Unexplained Assets Framework that is in the Anti-Corruption and Economics Crimes Act, and the issue of monitoring of bank accounts held outside Kenya that is provided for in the Leadership and Integrity Act. Mr. Erick Munyao Ngumbi also identified other frameworks which could be developed to enhance lifestyle audits. In mind, he mentioned the tax reporting framework under the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the anti-money laundering framework under the Proceeds of Crimes and Anti-money Laundering Act and the prudential guidelines of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). We all know the discomfort that many people have had when it comes to reporting requirements when moving money in banks. This researcher believes that if we tighten some of those frameworks, it can help to deal with unexplained assets and ill- gotten wealth. Mr. Erick Munyao interestingly, reviewed the Lifestyle Audit Bill of 2019. His conclusion is that it falls short of an ideal framework that can help in conducting lifestyle audits. In his place, he has proposed a Public Officer Lifestyle Audit and Wealth Audit Act. I think that what he is trying to do is to look at what Sen. Farhiya has done and what this House is doing. It is great to note that the work of this House, Bills that are still under consideration, are being considered at the citadel of learning, the University of Nairobi, and that, there are researchers who are already looking at what we are doing to ensure that we tighten the noose around and around the corrupt. Sen. Farhiya, I will share with you a copy of that report by Mr. Erick Munyao Ngumbi. However, I thought it was important for our students, researchers and faculty at the universities to know that this House just does not pick issues from the air when debating. Even when research reports come to our desks, we, as Senators, busy as we could be, we will spend some time, read them and also acknowledge that those ideas are not ours. Sometimes, in certain spheres and other Houses, there is a lot of plagiarism. Those views that I have expressed in the last three of four minutes are derived from the work of a researcher from the University of Nairobi. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, yesterday, I made some comments. I said that sophisticated corruption might be difficult to track using a lifestyle audit. There are many of us in this society who are experts at hiding affluents. They would rather walk on foot, drive a probox, drive the smallest of cars and yet they have got billions of shillings stashed in accounts either locally or in foreign nations. Tax heavens and the Panama papers have told us of how things are happening and how people are creating very sophisticated webs of deception to hide ill-gotten wealth. Perhaps this Lifestyle Audit (No.2) Bill (Senate Bills No. 21 of 2019) should go beyond the obvious display of consumption, opulents and ensure that we also have a framework for tracking some of the wealth that could be stashed abroad. That researcher that I cited earlier and the Leadership and Integrity Act already has certain provisions for"
}