I don’t think the governors are justified in rejecting the new
system. We must agree that once implemented, the system will bring on board transparency and accountability.
If people are doing business with the government, there is
nothing that should be secretive about it.
Let us know, in the county of Nyamira, Kisumu or any other, which
companies are doing business with them and who the directors are.
We have had this problem where you find one person who is
doing business with a county, is the sole director of 14 companies. That denies
equal opportunity to other people.
So, let us know whether there is favouritism in doing
business with the counties.
We should not struggle as senators, whose primary role is
to oversight, to seek information as to which company got what?
For a long time now, we have had this problem of voiding,
where people do business with the counties and the counties request payment
from the Controller of the Budget.
Then, when the money is released, they void those
transactions and pay companies that they favour. That has been a big problem in
accountability.
So, let us know which county is doing what business with
what entity, who the directors are and how many contracts that person has been
awarded by county X.
The issue of training should not arise. We have given governors
enough money to train their personnel.
I’m aware that even my own county has trained officers. I don’t
think we have employed people who are so dumb that we cannot adopt a new system.
The only area I can support governors, is if they want us
to have a sunrise clause, then that can be debatable. Sunrise means we say this
procurement will take effect from a certain date. Can that be from December or
January 2026?
That can be debatable if they ask for a sunrise clause. But
to say that they are fully rejecting the system does not make any sense. Can they
tell us why they are rejecting it?
What are the good reasons that can convince Kenyans that they
are justified in rejecting a system that is gaming to show us the people doing
business with counties? How much are they being paid, and is there value for
money? That is the transparency we want.
The Nyamira senator and CPAC member spoke to the Star
