Adan Keynan re-elected Public Investments Committee Chair

Nairobi: Eldas MP Adan Keynan has been re-elected the Chairman of the key Parliamentary Public Investments Committee (PIC).

Keynan (ODM) retained his position in the committee after members unanimously voted him for the position.

Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa (TNA) also retained his seat as Vice Chairman in a unanimous vote.

The committee was conducting elections for the last session of the eleventh Parliament.

Speaking after the elections, Keynan put on notice State Corporations over irregular spending in the run up to the 2017 General Elections.

He warned parastatal chiefs that it will scale up its vigilance to ensure accountability in the investment of public funds in the remaining 18 months to the next polls.

“This committee will go out of its way to uphold the expected threshold of accountability in the use of public resources during this electioneering period,” Keynan said.

He warned that people target government investments to loot money to fund campaigns as the country approaches elections.

“This committee has been able to churn out high quality reports like no other committee. We will maintain the momentum to ease backlog by working as a team,” he said.

Ichung'wa said the committee will ensure that accounting officers properly perform their roles in line with the Constitution.

“We all know that corruption glares its head in the run up the elections. We are telling accounting officers that we are going to be on the look-out,” he said.

Keynan and Ichung'wa asked committee members to put aside their political differences and concentrate in their work to ensure Kenyans get value for every shilling spent or invested by State agencies and corporations.

The watchdog committee has so far scrutinized 138 state institutions, with 80 remaining.

“We have handled almost all state institutions. We are confident we will finish them before the end of the current session,” said Keynan.