Editorials

EDITORIAL: MPs must walk the talk

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Parliament must be ready to be held answerable for its own budgets every financial year. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Parliament’s decision to bar State corporations from accessing a certain percentage of their annual budget if they fail to answer audit queries is timely and commendable.

If adopted, the affected agencies will only access money to pay salaries and facilitate movements.

This move is particularly welcome because for far too long, innumerable audit reports have questioned the integrity of some parastatals finances without any response at all.
Yet such agencies have continued to receive financial support from the Treasury without interruption.

Blocking access to budget funds until audit queries are answered will go a long way to enforcing prudence financial management as well as instill accountability for the outcomes.

But while we laud the parliamentary team for playing its role in ensuring better accountability in State corporations, one can only hope that the zeal will also be directed inwards to the August House.

Parliament must be ready to be held answerable for its own budgets every financial year.

This is because several MPs have previously been accused of failing to account for Constituency Development Fund (CDF) cash.