National Assembly PAC to Senate: Stick to your roles

PAC chairman Opiyo Wandayi at a past press briefing. [File, Standard]

The National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has accused the Senate of hijacking duties meant for the National Assembly.

The committee claimed that the senate order to Auditor General Edward Ouko to undertake a special audit on the Ministry of Health with regards to health equipment was unconstitutional and unacceptable.

Speaking in Siaya County at a funeral in Gem at the weekend, the PAC chairman Opiyo Wandayi argued that the Senate has no mandate to oversight the national government.

“According to the constitution their mandate is limited to following up on the monies that they approve to the counties and ensuring they protect the county governments. When it comes to matters of oversight in the national government, it is purely the mandate of the national assembly,” he said.

He noted that this was a ploy by the Senate to allow those culpable in the project to go free and also use the window to frustrate the court system.

The Ugunja MP further claimed that the move was bound to create more confusion.

“The senate should stick to their mandate. It is clear and they have confirmed in their so called report that the procurement of this equipment was done from Nairobi at the Ministry of Health headquarters   and they have also confirmed that the monies that have been charged to the counties with respect to this equipment was spent in Nairobi and not to the counties,” explained the MP.

Mr Wandayi said that the Senate did not bother to consult the PAC of National Assembly if they had seized the matter or at what level they had reached with it.

He warned the Senate to desist from encroaching in the territory of the National assembly and specifically on the territory of PAC.

The MP asked the Auditor General not to accept the directive given to him by the Senate since he can only get instructions or directives on carrying out audit on Ministries from the PAC committee.

“They have got so much to do in terms of looking at the steps made by the counties, we do  not want to see them scavenging for work that belongs to the National Assembly ,if they idle they must also say, so that we address the matter through a referendum,” he added.