Thursday, 28th April, 2016

Hon. Senators, as you are aware, on Tuesday 19th April, 2016, I directed that the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure should appear before the Senate to respond to the Statement sought by Sen. (Prof.) Anyang’-Nyong’o on the operations of Kenya Airways Limited. The Cabinet Secretary has since confirmed his availability on Tuesday 3rd May, 2016.

This is, therefore, to invite you to the said meeting between the Standing Committee on Roads and Transportation and the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which will be held on Tuesday 3rd May, 2016, at 10.30 a.m. in the Senate Chamber, on the Ground Floor, Main Parliament Buildings.

I thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 45, this is to present to the Senate, Business for the coming week, Tuesday 3rd May,

Let us move to Statements being sought. Sen. Mwakulegwa!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 45 (2) (b) I rise to seek a Statement from the Chairman of the Committee on Land and Natural Resources on the management of forests in Taita-Taveta County.

In the Statement the Chairperson should provide the following information:-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I request to be given two weeks to bring the answer.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have a second Statement to seek. Pursuant to Standing Order No.45 (2) (b) I rise to seek a Statement from the Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Transportation on the transfer of roads Class D, E, F and below.

In the Statement, the Chairperson should provide the following:-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we will provide the Statement within two weeks.

It is so ordered.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Since the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure will be coming here on 3rd May, 2016, is it possible for the request to be included among the issues he will tackle?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will convey the request, but I think the time is too short. The issues will be answered, if possible. But if they will not be addressed, I will seek for at least two weeks. The Cabinet Secretary could highlight some of the issues when he comes.

Order, Members, we have statements to be issued. Yesterday, we deferred two statements to today. Could we have Statement (a) issued?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand to give the Statement as requested by the Senator for Pokot.

Order, Chair. There is no county known as Pokot. West Pokot County. I know there is no East or North Pokot. Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo requested for this Statement concerning the construction of a cement plant in West Pokot County.

My Committee wrote to the Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Environment and Natural Resources and they said that this project is actually a private investor project but not a Government project. Nonetheless, the Government controls whatever private investors come to do in Kenya. The Ministry requested for the information that was sought for from the private company.

The response was as follows:- The construction did not stall as such, but rather slowed down because of delays in issuance of requisite licenses, land title deed, approvals, consent letters, mining rights and no objection, among others, that were needed before the investors could move on with the project. Below is a list indicating that the majority of the documents were obtained after June, 2010, with the latest being EIA License dated 17th October, 2014, issued by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for Cemtech’s Staff Housing Estate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I should have clarified earlier that the Senate sought information on whether the Ministry is aware that in June, 2010, the then Prime Minister of Kenya launched the construction of Pokot Cement Plant in West Pokot County. This answer is in response to that. The list of licenses, consents, approvals, land title deed, mining rights et cetera

granted to Cemtech Ltd., for its Pokot 1.2 Million Tons Per Annum/30Megawatts Power Plant Project are as listed.

To save time, I do not have to read all the licenses - they are 18 of them - because this information has already been communicated to the Senator for West Pokot.

Agreed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also asked them to explain if the investors Cemtech and Sanghi Group are still interested in the project, and, if so, when the production of the cement will start. The response to this is that the investors Cemtech and Sanghi Group are not only interested in the project, but have invested and continued to invest heavily in the project. To date, factory designs and drawings have been finalised and the investors have indicated that the plant should be ready to start production of cement by June, 2017.

At the group’s 650 acres project site, construction commenced from January this year and their project team has completed a 22-room accommodation building with all facilities for the entire project team to stay at the site. The perimeter wall covering the group’s 650 acres is in progress. The factory layout plans and the clearance have been completed. The plant, machinery, equipment et cetera from the main contractors shall start to be installed at the site as and when it is ready for dispatch.

The whole project is expected to be completed by June next year. Sanghi Cement Group of India are the majority investors or shareholders in the project and are undertaking the said project. The project team is fully coordinated by the Director of

9099081000 and email address is adityasanghi@sanghicement.com. They are based at the Eldoret site.

The Director/Administration for projects is Joshua Aroni whose telephone number is 0722-836562 and email is joshua.aroni@cemtechsanghi.com and he is based at the CEMTECH offices at KMA Building, 7th floor, Upper Hill, Nairobi. The Cemtech’s registered offices are at Laborex Building/Farm Auto on Mombasa Road opposite Standard Newspapers Ltd. Cemtech’s Liaison Office is on General Mathenge Drive, Westlands behind Westgate.

All technical planning and coordination with contractors and suppliers of the plant is undertaken at Sanghi Cement Group’s Plant at Bhuj Gujarat and its offices at Ahmedabad, Mumbai, India.

The project is monitored by the West Pokot County Committee headed by the West Pokot Governor, Simon Kachapin.

The investors further welcome anyone interested in observing the progress of the project to feel free and make a visit to the plant site.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank the Chairman and the Committee for endeavoring to get the responses from the CS for the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Trade regarding the cement plant. As I appreciate, I also want to point out that we know that this is a private investor but the national and county governments have a right to safeguard communities in the rural areas from people who go there with big plans and ideas and eventually do not fulfil them.

Order, Senator. Seek clarifications.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, indeed, I am seeking clarification. The Chairman has said that the delays were occasioned by designs and drawings. This is not true because the said factory was launched in June, 2010, by the then Prime Minister. You cannot launch a factory without drawings. So, that is not correct.

Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, seek clarifications.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, could the Chairman also tell this House whether it is true that the investor said that the machinery that was supposed to be taken to West Pokot Cement Plant is so huge that it cannot be transported on Kenyan roads and so they are waiting for roads to be expanded? He needs to tell us when that will happen.

I have heard the Chairperson talk about a list; that there exists a West Pokot County Committee. I am very interested to know from you, Chairperson, who the Committee members are. I am already seeing that you have cited the Governor of West Pokot County as a member. This is a private investment. Are you confirming that the Governor of West Pokot County is also a shareholder or a member of the Committee? What is the role of this Committee regarding this private investment?

looks like the investor is the one that supplied this. I request that the Chairperson undertakes to call the investor and the Cabinet Secretary (CS) to his Committee and interrogate them further, then, you can get more details than what is indicated here.

In a nutshell, we want to know when the factory will be rolled out. All the deadlines that were given before have passed. The first deadline was 2013 and now it is

Mr. Speaker, Sir, yes and by way of an observation. The answer to this question has suggested that this particular plant was launched way back in June,

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like you to give me permission to go back and seek a Statement before ---

Order, Sen. Njoroge! I was afraid you were taking that route. I tried to anticipate by asking if you were seeking a clarification. The best that you should have said is “no” and then we proceed.

Sen. Karaba, is yours a clarification on the Statement?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, yes. This is not the only private partnership participation that we have in this country. We have a number of others in counties and in my county, we have tea processing ---

Sen. Karaba, it is Statement Time.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, is it possible for these private practitioners, participants or private developers to be given time limits by the Government, so that they do not take unnecessarily too long?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, although I did not read through all the licences that this investor sought, the whole process started in 2009. The first letter of approval dated 12th July, 2009 was for mining rights from the Commissioner of Mines and Geology. All the approvals and licences which are listed here come from different Government sources. This means that whereas they had to look for change of user, get the title, get approvals for the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and mining and all the other corners. I would like to support what has been put forward by my colleague, Sen. Obure, that the problem is actually within the Kenya Government.

The red tape seems to have taken from December, 2009 up to 17th October, 2014 when the last NEMA licence was issued. From 2014, this investor had already put up accommodation for 200 people, a perimeter fence and done all the design drawings

visit and see what they are doing to go there. They have given the contacts of all their offices. I do not know what value we may add to even call them.

They will come and say: “Okay, we were called. We found that these licences took from 2009 to 2014. After we found that, we have started work.” I would request my colleague, Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, to first of all, go with this answer and visit whatever is going on on the ground. If it becomes necessary, I would like to assure that my Committee will be ready to take up any issues that may come out of such interrogations after his visit.

Having said that, I would like to note that this kind of delay for this kind of investment occurs not only in West Pokot County but also in other counties. I would like to support what my other colleagues have talked about, not only the Ministry of Environment and natural Resources, but the entire investment environment in Kenya needs to be improved.Just to mention, before I came to Parliament, I was the Director of the Kenya Investment Authority (KIA). One of the things that we tried to do then, was to establish a one stop shop like what happens in Rwanda and a few other countries where investors do not have to come, start running up and down establishing many offices and spending four years to get approvals to start a project. I believe that this is something that we need to clean in-house.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, just being given the list of hurdles that they purportedly made them unable to fulfill their pledge beats all logic. This is because by 2010, they were supposed to have started the factory. At the same time, I am aware two licences were given and one was to do a factory in Athi River ---

Order, Senator! It is clarification time and do not be repetitive.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, yes, I am seeking a clarification.He said it has taken long. What happened to the one that was built in Athi River, the Devki Group? At the same time, they have now done three factories in Kenya when the other one has done zero. So, are you saying that we have different ways of dealing with different investors in Kenya?

Lastly, I invite the Committee to go and visit those sites so that they can understand the frustration that my people go through in waiting for this huge thing that does not come.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, whereas I have no objection to my Committee visiting the site, I welcome the Senator for West Pokot to join us or even visit the site before the Committee goes there.

I live there. If that is the case, we should visit there so that we can fast-track some of the concerns he has. On the other hand, I believe it is also possible for us to voice the concerns of the Senator directly to this investor if there is some information regarding what happened that we do not know so that we can get full clarification.

Order Sen. Obure! There was time for clarifications and it ended. I only allowed the one who sought the Statement for obvious interest.

Sen. Obure, you are not the Chair responsible, so you can share the positive things with the chairman and the Committee and you are a Member of the Committee. You cannot purport to be assisting the Chair on the Floor. That assistance should be given elsewhere. In the meantime Chair, we are called upon as a House to respond to the needs of Kenyans.

I think Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo has put a case, given the county we are talking about and the need for accelerated development which is why we are here. I direct that your Committee actually visits the site so that you give this a bit of urgency and importance which it deserves.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I take the advice. Thank you. We are now moving to Statement No. 2

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do not have this Statement at the moment and I would request Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale to give us one more week to respond to his Statement.

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, one more week which will be next Wednesday. Let us move to Statement 2 (d) .

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have not received an answer to this Statement from the Minister and I suppose that by next week, I will be having it.

When?

Next week on Thursday. Since the Statement has already appeared, let us bring the Statement on Tuesday next week. This is about closure of a university.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is a public holiday on Monday. What does that have to do with Tuesday?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have only tomorrow to work on. So, I requested for two more days.

Order! We are not seeking the Statement from today. This is a matter that has been pending. So, you are only asking for more time to pursue. Tomorrow is 24 hours not to mention the other days because if they delay, they could eat into the weekend. The responsibility is on their part. So, do not try to defend them here. Bring it on Tuesday.

Obliged, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

On a point of order Mr. Speaker, Sir. The Chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance, Budget and Commerce is here to give the response to Statement 2 (a).

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I apologize for coming late. The Statement sought by the Senator for West Pokot, who is my good neighbour is not ready and we seek his indulgence for another week. I will deliver by Thursday next week.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Statement was due yesterday and you directed that it be given today. He is now defying your directive.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in any case, this is the kind of information that is readily available at the National Treasury or at the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. I do not know why we should be asked to wait for one week.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have consulted and we will try and get it by Tuesday because there is a long holiday coming. That is why we were pushing it to Thursday but if he insists, we will try our best to answer it on Tuesday.

What about the issue of defying the directive?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was not in the House yesterday and I have not been advised on the directive but I apologize if there was a directive given to the Committee. Our Committee met this morning but there was no communication to that effect. I apologize.

Bring it on Tuesday next week. Sen. Njoroge, you may now seek your statement.

Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am seeking a statement pursuant to Standing Order No. 45 (2) (b) from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations concerning the just concluded police recruitment exercise.

In the Statement, I want the Chair to address the following:-

Vice-Chairperson.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I request Sen. Njoroge to give me two weeks to respond to his request.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The issues that I have raised in my request for a statement are obvious. Two weeks is too long because the recruits are supposed to report to their institutions from tomorrow.

Sen. Adan, let us have the Statement in one week’s time, because this is a matter that is already done with; it is just information.

Much obliged, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Order, Members. We will go back to Papers Laid, but before we do so, allow me to read two Communications from the Chair.

Next Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday, 28th April, 2016:-

Report of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on the examination of a Petition by residents of Bomet County on embezzlement of funds, financial impropriety and skewed employment by the Bomet County Government.

Report of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on examination of a Petition by residents of Wajir County on alleged misappropriation of funds by the Governor and County Government of Wajir.

Report of the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on examination of a Petition by hon. Teddy Mwambire, regarding timelines for disbursement of funds by the National Treasury to county governments.

Report of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on examination of a Petition by Mr. David Gesicho, regarding a proposed formula for division and allocation of revenue towards realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .

Report of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on the examination of a Petition by residents of Bomet County on the need for a quick resolution to the budget crisis in the county.

Report of the Standing Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget on the examination of a Petition by Abdul Salaam M. Dakane and Abdulahi Hassan on alleged misappropriation of funds by the Mandera County Government.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday, 28th April, 2016:-

Report of the Sessional Committee on Devolved Government on the Petition on the implementation of Urban Areas and Cities Act 2011 by counties.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate today, Thursday, 28th April, 2016:-

Next Order.

Bill, put and the Senate proceeded to vote by County delegation) AYES: Sen. Adan, Isiolo County; Sen. (Prof.) Anyang'- Nyong'o, Kisumu County; Sen. Billow, Mandera County; Sen. Boy Juma Boy, Kwale County; Sen. Chelule, Nakuru County; Sen. Chiaba, Lamu County; Sen. Elachi, Nairobi County; Sen. Kagwe, Nyeri County; Sen. M. Kajwang, Homa Bay County; Sen. Khaniri, Vihiga County; Sen. Kiraitu, Meru County; Sen. Kisasa, Kilifi County; Sen. Kivuti, Embu County; Sen. (Prof.) Lesan, Bomet County; Sen. Lesuuda, Samburu County; Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, West Pokot County; Sen. (Dr.) Machage, Migori County; Sen. Mohamud, Wajir County; Sen. Murkomen, Elgeyo-Marakwet County; Sen. Musila, Kitui County; Sen. Mwakulegwa, Taita-Taveta County; Sen. Nabwala, Trans Nzoia County; Sen. Ntutu, Narok County; Sen. Obure, Kisii County; Sen. Omondi, Kakamega County; and Sen. Wamatangi, Kiambu County.

Mr. Temporary Chairperson, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the Senate its consideration of the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No.4 of 2016) and its approval thereof without amendments.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage in the Chair]

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No.4 of 2016) and its approval thereof without amendments.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said report.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bill No.4 of 2016) be now read a Third Time.

Sen. Khaniri seconded

Wamatangi, Kiambu County.

(Sen. (Dr.) Machage): Hon. Senators, I wish to announce the results as follows:-

Hon. Senators, I wish to announce the results as follows:-

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:-

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Sessional Committee on County Public Accounts and Investments on the Inquiry

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:-

Financial Year 2013/2014 laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 4th November, 2015. The County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) comprising of the following Members: -

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale; Sen. Hassan Omar Hassan; Sen. Kipchumba Murkomen then; Sen. Wamatangi Kimani; Sen. (Eng.) Karue Muriuki; Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo; Sen. Wangari Martha; Sen. George Khaniri; Sen. Sitswila Amos Wako; Sen. Okong’o Mong’are and I reviewed the audited accounts of Homa Bay County Executive for the Financial Year stated.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee having been first constituted on 27th March, 2014 pursuant to Senate Standing Order No.181 following a resolution of the House on Thursday, 27th February, 2014 to amend the Senate Standing Orders.

The Committee was subsequently constituted on 17th February, 2015 pursuant to Senate Standing Order No.210(1) which requires Sessional Committees to be reconstituted at the commencement of every Session. In that regard, the Office of the Auditor-General on various dates after the constitution of the Committee from June 2015, forwarded reports on the financial operations of the County Governments for the Financial Year 2013/2014 to the Senate pursuant to the provisions of Article 229(7).

As such, the Report on the Financial Operations of Homa Bay County Executive for the period 1st July, 2013 to 30th June, 2015 was tabled on 30th June, 2015 and stood committed to the Sessional Committee on Public Accounts and Investments.

The Committee held several meetings with Homa Bay County Executive on various dates including, 14th, 15th and 29th July, 2015 where it considered the report of the Auditor-General under review.

The Committee further visited the County Government of Homa Bay on 6th August, 2015 to follow up on particular issues that required verification. The sittings were primarily investigatory. The Committee received evidence from the Governor as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and policy maker of the County Government of Homa Bay.

The main issue for determination and investigation was the audit queries contained in the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Operations of Homa Bay County Executive for the Financial Year 2013/2014, which we are discussing today.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee in arriving at particular recommendations in this Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Operations of Homa Bay County Executive took into account the challenges faced by counties at their nascent days. The Committee was further guided by the mandate of the Senate pursuant to the provisions of Article 96(1) of the Constitution, particularly the need to strike a balance between protection and oversight in accordance with the provisions of Article 96(1) and (3) of the Constitution.

The Committee structured its deliberations and decisions in the following manner:-

You are protected. The Senate Deputy Majority Leader, can you keep your peace?

new laws. Some of these laws were being tested for the first time.

The audit findings and the reports of the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) also confirmed this state. In Homa Bay, the Auditor-General has come up with some findings around human resource, payroll, not adhering to some of the laws that had just been enacted and also not adhering to procurement procedures. Because of the learning nature of the first year of devolution, it is fair to give the governors some little amount of latitude such that even if they killed during that period, we would consider it manslaughter rather than looking at it as murder, considering the difficulties they had at that point in time. However, there are certain acts of omission or commission that cannot go unchallenged and they have been brought up very clearly in this Report.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are certain acts that make me feel that I should look at them as murder rather than manslaughter for a county like Homa Bay that suffers the huge brunt of HIV/AIDS. We have the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the country and, probably, globally. When you start seeing avenues through which people are using to syphon funds from public coffers, you start feeling like they are committing murder because they deny thousands of people access to medical care. I will give you an example from the Report by the CPAIC that is based on the Auditor-General’s Report.

The county procured 306 hatcheries. These were supposed to be given to 227 groups. The total cost of this venture was Kshs123 million. Quick mathematics will tell you that each of the 306 hatcheries was purchased at an average cost of Kshs404,000. Many of us in this House have been in politics for a long period of time. From time to time, chances are you have bought hatcheries and donated them to women and youth groups and other stakeholders. I have done a market survey and I have sought proforma invoices from providers and suppliers of hatcheries. None of those suppliers has quoted to me anything close to Kshs400,000. The average cost of a hatchery starts from Kshs150,000 going all the way to Kshs200,000. You will find that a county has procured 300 hatcheries at a cost of Kshs400,000 each.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the tragedy is that the CPAIC did not really interrogate that particular matter. The CPAIC and the Auditor-General confined themselves to finding out whether restricted tendering was used or the provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act were used. They did not do a deep dive to ask what kind of a hatchery is sold for Kshs400,000. Is it a hatchery that can fry an egg or manufacture feed? This is an avenue that has been used to syphon funds from public coffers.

If you take an average cost of a hatchery to be Kshs200,000 and you spend Kshs400,000, you are looking at a potential loss of close to Kshs60 million just like that. I said that we could call it manslaughter in the first year, but I am beginning to be convinced that this is murder of the people of Homa Bay. Indeed, if there was padding of the invoices, Kshs60 million could have helped a lot of mothers and many people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the CPAIC reports indicate that when they went to the ground, they found that some of the hatcheries were deployed in areas without

there is no electricity. In some areas, the things were kept and they were not being used. In some areas, the hatcheries were still sitting in the offices of MCAs.

I know that the CPAIC has just been reorganised and Sen. (Prof.) Anyang'- Nyong'o has taken the mantle. The nation looks at this Senate as the last saviour of devolution. These are issues that sometimes county assemblies are unable to deal with because there are some local interests and governors are very good at taking care of those interests. It is this Senate that remains impartial.

It is this Senate that the nation and people of Homa Bay are looking at today to ensure that we do not allow these kind of avenues for syphoning of funds.

There was no feasibility study that was done. You spent Kshs120 million, but with no feasibility studies being conducted. You even use restricted tendering. You broke all the laws of procurement and all commonsense when it comes to implementation of projects. How I wish the CPAIC would have come out much more strongly rather than recommending a value for money audit to be completed within one year.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will give you a second example of a solar lighting project. In the report, it is called Okonyo Welo. That is a Luo term meaning, “the visitors have been assisted.” This was a noble initiative to put up solar lamps in 248 markets. The county government procured 800 solar-powered lamps to be deployed to 248 markets at a total cost of Kshs143 million. Interestingly, they set up the cost without including Value Added Tax (VAT). Again, this is another issue because later when payments are being made, VAT gets factored in. This gives you an average cost of Kshs207,000 for each solar floodlight.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as an aspiring governor, you must also have gone to the market to find out how much it would cost you to do some of these things for the benefit of your people. This amount is above the market price. That is a similar trend that we have seen with the hatcheries. The interesting thing is that the county went into a joint venture with a private company. Both the county and the private were supposed to contribute 50 per cent each. The county went ahead and paid Kshs80 million and the private player did not contribute a cent.

This is a clear game where the county is providing money to finance a private individual, so that some loot can be shared out at the end of the day. Again, restricted tendering was used in this particular case yet the CPAIC recommends that we reprimand some people and that the Auditor-General conducts a value for money audit within a period of one year.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the CPAIC needs to be much more firm in its recommendations. This thing of being polite and at the end of the day, we are the last frontier when it comes to oversight and safeguarding public funds that have been sent to counties.

The third example is that; the county government undertook various renovations and repairs totaling to about Kshs72 million. If you look at some of these repairs, you can clearly see a pattern of duplication. Just allow me to refer to some of them. The county spent Kshs10 million to purchase furniture and Kshs4.3 million to renovate the

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as the Senator for Homa Bay and this Report touches on Homa Bay, I take up the duty to second, because the hon. Senator who was meant to second it has taken a short break. I, therefore, second this Motion. I will also make some comments because having seconded this Motion, I do not think I will be allowed to speak to the same issue again at a later time.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am aware that in 2013/2014, the period which this Report covers, county governments were still newborns and they were faced with numerous challenges. Indeed, the first governors had a tough challenge of putting in place systems, procedures and processes often without any precedence to refer to.

If Kenyans understood the job of a governor, they would have selected individuals who are experts in institution building because the first term for county governments required people who were good in institution building rather than people who were good at politics and showbiz. So, many counties, including Homa Bay, had a

new laws. Some of these laws were being tested for the first time.

The audit findings and the reports of the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) also confirmed this state. In Homa Bay, the Auditor-General has come up with some findings around human resource, payroll, not adhering to some of the laws that had just been enacted and also not adhering to procurement procedures. Because of the learning nature of the first year of devolution, it is fair to give the governors some little amount of latitude such that even if they killed during that period, we would consider it manslaughter rather than looking at it as murder, considering the difficulties they had at that point in time. However, there are certain acts of omission or commission that cannot go unchallenged and they have been brought up very clearly in this Report.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are certain acts that make me feel that I should look at them as murder rather than manslaughter for a county like Homa Bay that suffers the huge brunt of HIV/AIDS. We have the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the country and, probably, globally. When you start seeing avenues through which people are using to syphon funds from public coffers, you start feeling like they are committing murder because they deny thousands of people access to medical care. I will give you an example from the Report by the CPAIC that is based on the Auditor-General’s Report.

The county procured 306 hatcheries. These were supposed to be given to 227 groups. The total cost of this venture was Kshs123 million. Quick mathematics will tell you that each of the 306 hatcheries was purchased at an average cost of Kshs404,000. Many of us in this House have been in politics for a long period of time. From time to time, chances are you have bought hatcheries and donated them to women and youth groups and other stakeholders. I have done a market survey and I have sought proforma invoices from providers and suppliers of hatcheries. None of those suppliers has quoted to me anything close to Kshs400,000. The average cost of a hatchery starts from Kshs150,000 going all the way to Kshs200,000. You will find that a county has procured 300 hatcheries at a cost of Kshs400,000 each.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the tragedy is that the CPAIC did not really interrogate that particular matter. The CPAIC and the Auditor-General confined themselves to finding out whether restricted tendering was used or the provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act were used. They did not do a deep dive to ask what kind of a hatchery is sold for Kshs400,000. Is it a hatchery that can fry an egg or manufacture feed? This is an avenue that has been used to syphon funds from public coffers.

If you take an average cost of a hatchery to be Kshs200,000 and you spend Kshs400,000, you are looking at a potential loss of close to Kshs60 million just like that. I said that we could call it manslaughter in the first year, but I am beginning to be convinced that this is murder of the people of Homa Bay. Indeed, if there was padding of the invoices, Kshs60 million could have helped a lot of mothers and many people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the CPAIC reports indicate that when they went to the ground, they found that some of the hatcheries were deployed in areas without

Sen. Kajwang, you know you are seconding the Motion. Though you made a disclaimer that you are doing so because the intended Seconder was unavailable at the time, since you will not have another opportunity to contribute, you are also making your comments and contributions as the Senator for Homa Bay County. I will give you a little more time for that.

As you second the Motion and raise your concerns, know that you are seconding the Motion. So, you need to have some balance, knowing that you are the seconder and raising some of the concerns so that it does not appear that you are not seconding the Motion, but tearing the report apart. Just do some balancing. I will add you some time because of your position as the Senator for Homa Bay County.

Proceed.

is in the Auditor-General’s report, our Committee did not interrogate it and did not recommend sanctions on the officials who were involved in this---

Sen. Kajwang, you know you are seconding the Motion. Though you made a disclaimer that you are doing so because the intended Seconder was unavailable at the time, since you will not have another opportunity to contribute, you are also making your comments and contributions as the Senator for Homa Bay County. I will give you a little more time for that.

As you second the Motion and raise your concerns, know that you are seconding the Motion. So, you need to have some balance, knowing that you are the seconder and raising some of the concerns so that it does not appear that you are not seconding the Motion, but tearing the report apart. Just do some balancing. I will add you some time because of your position as the Senator for Homa Bay County.

Proceed.

Hon.Senator, it appears that we might need some of those solar powered panels to support the Senate with power.

Proceed, Senator.

with strict timelines within which CPAIC is required to look at this.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to call upon the newly constituted CPAIC to be bold in the recommendations. Let us not be polite nor please the governors. For the record, I support my governor, but I do not support a situation where the governor buys a hatchery at Kshs400,000 when you can get a similar hatchery at Kshs150,000. That is the point at which we put aside our friendship, our membership of a political party. It is a point at which we start talking of criminality. If we are going to procure at twice the price, there is no difference between you and those people in Bungoma County who bought wheelbarrows at extra ordinary prices.

There is no difference between you and those people in the Ministry of Devolution and Planning who bought pens and condom dispensers and other toys at extra ordinary prices. We cannot be shouting that some people at the Central Government are corrupt yet there are certain Acts at the county governments that indicate that we are equally as bad as the people in the Central Government if not worse.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Members of CPAIC must set aside their political party loyalties, must get rid of what one time Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale called “the mother hen” instinct. The Mother hen instinct is when you are Chairperson of CPAIC and you go to a county that is run by people who are friendly to you and your party, you are tempted to protect them so that your party is not seen in a bad light. At the end of the day, this Senate does not exist to defend political parties or to defend coalitions, but to defend the livelihoods of the people in the counties.

Finally Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, about the issue of value of money audits, I do hope that as we have said, they will be done within one year and we are going to get those Reports which are going to be reports that are fair and truly representative of some of the project that are happening in the counties.

With the reluctance that I had expressed at the beginning, I second this Motion, but I do hope that some of the issues that I have raised will be looked into so that we do not devolve corruption. I must repeat this again that as much as I defend and protect devolution, I am the defender and protector of the county government of Homa Bay, and in as much as I have a good relationship with my governor and his Executive, in the issue of hatcheries and solar street lamps, that is the point where we will stop being friends so that we resolve these things and make sure the people of Homa Bay County get value for money. Once those issues have been addressed, then we continue with our friendship and we can go on to 2017 and get re-elected if these things are addressed satisfactorily.

Thank you. So, you beg to second?

Hon.Senator, it appears that we might need some of those solar powered panels to support the Senate with power.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we will call them Okonyo Senate. It means that the Senate has been helped.

Just to wind up, if you do not maintain a revenue cash book, it means you do not know how much you are collecting. We send money to counties from national collections and they collect money from the market women; people who have already paid Value Added Tax (VAT) on whatever products that they are paying, yet we cannot account for it.

The Committee has made certain recommendations and given the county some timelines to put some of these things in place. However, I wish that this House notes and takes it very seriously that on the project of hatcheries and solar lamps in Homa Bay County, this House must get a report from the Auditor-General. The Committee has recommended that the Auditor-General conducts a value for money audit. I had reservations about the timeframe that has been given because they informed the Committee that it be done within one year. In my view, one year is too long.

In my view, one year is too long, but when the committee explained to me the constraints that the Auditor-General is operating within, I grudgingly accepted and I will not be moving an amendment. I would have wished to amend that these matters be looked at within a span of three months so that we do not go into the next elections without knowing whether these projects were properly done.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would also request your guidance and your interpretation. If you look at this report, the notice of Motion was issued earlier in November, 2015. Some of the recommendations here are in the past. There are recommendations for 31st December, 2015.

I beg your guidance on this because my understanding is that despite these dates being in the past, the Committee on Implementation will start tracking from the date on which this report was adopted. Therefore, it will not be necessary for us to go through the report and amend the effective dates because it is easy for the county government to say that the dates have passed and we forget.

Secondly Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to call upon this House to impress upon the CPAIC to quickly consider the reports that come before it. We are looking at accounts of 2013/2014 Financial Year and we are already in 2016. By the time we go for elections, most likely we will have only looked at accounts for two years yet we know it is in the third and fourth years that some of these corruption scandals will come up. We will go into elections without having subjected the current executives to the test that PAIC and this Senate is supposed to subject it to.

In fact, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to recommend something radical that we come up with some standards of service for some of our critical committees and we give them timelines by which reports that come to them must have been considered. I say so because there is already a clear failure by the county assemblies. Ideally, the law says that this report of the Auditor-General shall go to the Senate and a copy shall also go to the county assembly. From my own county assembly, there is no information or update to know whether the county assembly has considered this Report. That means Senate is on

with strict timelines within which CPAIC is required to look at this.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to call upon the newly constituted CPAIC to be bold in the recommendations. Let us not be polite nor please the governors. For the record, I support my governor, but I do not support a situation where the governor buys a hatchery at Kshs400,000 when you can get a similar hatchery at Kshs150,000. That is the point at which we put aside our friendship, our membership of a political party. It is a point at which we start talking of criminality. If we are going to procure at twice the price, there is no difference between you and those people in Bungoma County who bought wheelbarrows at extra ordinary prices.

There is no difference between you and those people in the Ministry of Devolution and Planning who bought pens and condom dispensers and other toys at extra ordinary prices. We cannot be shouting that some people at the Central Government are corrupt yet there are certain Acts at the county governments that indicate that we are equally as bad as the people in the Central Government if not worse.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Members of CPAIC must set aside their political party loyalties, must get rid of what one time Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale called “the mother hen” instinct. The Mother hen instinct is when you are Chairperson of CPAIC and you go to a county that is run by people who are friendly to you and your party, you are tempted to protect them so that your party is not seen in a bad light. At the end of the day, this Senate does not exist to defend political parties or to defend coalitions, but to defend the livelihoods of the people in the counties.

Finally Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, about the issue of value of money audits, I do hope that as we have said, they will be done within one year and we are going to get those Reports which are going to be reports that are fair and truly representative of some of the project that are happening in the counties.

With the reluctance that I had expressed at the beginning, I second this Motion, but I do hope that some of the issues that I have raised will be looked into so that we do not devolve corruption. I must repeat this again that as much as I defend and protect devolution, I am the defender and protector of the county government of Homa Bay, and in as much as I have a good relationship with my governor and his Executive, in the issue of hatcheries and solar street lamps, that is the point where we will stop being friends so that we resolve these things and make sure the people of Homa Bay County get value for money. Once those issues have been addressed, then we continue with our friendship and we can go on to 2017 and get re-elected if these things are addressed satisfactorily.

Thank you. So, you beg to second?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, without bringing in the word “reluctant,” I beg to second.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this report. I wish to commend the PAIC for the serious

some mistakes which have been done when it comes to the management or the leadership of Homa Bay. I have been to this and it is a beautiful county. I have seen a lot of improvements since devolution came in place, but having looked at this report, I can see that a lot better could have been done and the people of Homa Bay County would have enjoyed more and better fruits of devolution which they passed through the Constitution.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the problem with most counties is that the leadership believes in this maxim of “me, myself and I.” This issue of teamwork is not fully embraced. There are some people like the deputy governors, in fact, the reason Sen. Murkomen found it fit to bring the Bill that we passed a while ago to give the deputy governors more teeth. When we looked at the Petition from the people of Embu County, we could see that disconnect. That disconnect is what leads to such mistakes which have been pointed out by these Committee Members.

I know that in some counties like Machakos, some revenue was collected and it is utilized. There was a time that it was done according to the information that we were given. Those are the kind of mistakes that we make and you are not able to account for the money when the right time for accounting comes. The people of your area who contribute do not see where the sweat they go through is taking them.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this money belongs to the people and it should serve them wisely. It should be looked into and protected and guarded. If you do not protect the interests of the people, this is how you get such reports.

This is how to get such reports. I agree with the Committee that the county governments should use restricted-tendering sparingly, if it is not giving the results that they want.

The recruitment of personnel is not done on need-basis, but on ‘scratch my back’ basis. Opportunities are given to chief campaigners, people from a particular clan and so on. Such incidents make people not to adhere to the strict rules of employment. If the rules and regulations governing the procurement of goods and services in the public sector are not obeyed or adhered to the letter, there will not be any uniformity or way forward. We shall continue going round and round without any progress. By now, at least, all counties should have laid firm foundations, so that within no time----