HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, POST, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"count": 1608389,
"next": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=148016",
"previous": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=148014",
"results": [
{
"id": 1498342,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498342/?format=api",
"text_counter": 502,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Applause)"
},
{
"id": 1498343,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498343/?format=api",
"text_counter": 503,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Jomvu, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Bady Twalib",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Na Officer Commanding Station (OCS ) wa hapo kwangu ni mjomba wake Mhe. Rindikiri. Atafanya kazi kisawa na tutaendelea vizuri. Ahsanteni na Mwenyezi Mungu atubariki."
},
{
"id": 1498344,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498344/?format=api",
"text_counter": 504,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Mhe. Dr. Mutunga."
},
{
"id": 1498345,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498345/?format=api",
"text_counter": 505,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Laughter)"
},
{
"id": 1498346,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498346/?format=api",
"text_counter": 506,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am happy to be part of this discussion today to actually support this Bill and also to hear our brothers and sisters from the Coast. County governments were created as units of development and any development worldwide requires resources. So, it is in order for counties to basically collect revenue."
},
{
"id": 1498347,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498347/?format=api",
"text_counter": 507,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1498348,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498348/?format=api",
"text_counter": 508,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The other issue is this: It is important for us to realise that county governments are in competition to raise revenue. Already, we have the order of things in terms of the performance of different counties and we actually laud some of the great performers in revenue collection. But revenue collection must be very well thought through in order not to mess up with the status quo of a country. This country is not measured by the status of the counties or the performance of the counties, but it is measured by the performance of the country, as it were. Article 209 of the Constitution basically restricts taxation and other revenue-raising measures to adherence to the policies of the country. If the policies are not properly followed, then we will be making a big mistake. We also know for a fact that counties are recognised as further units of devolution and countries have the liberty to interpret further their own regulations and their own conduct of business at the county level. So, in this particular case, this Bill comes at the right time to try and provide some guidelines on how to structure out revenues. Counties collect levies, rates, fees and taxes. In collecting all those revenues, they need to have innovative ways of doing it without increasing the cost of doing business in Kenya. There is no business that is done in Kenya without being done in a county. In other words, we are saying that any businessman who will ever target this country to do business or any investor from this country - and we are busy promoting Kenya for foreign direct investment - will land in a county. If the cost of doing business in a given county is high, then it will reduce the possibilities for investors to come and do business in Kenya. We do not want to have punitive costs as a result of the competition to raise revenue at the county level. There are various products from different parts of this country. Products produced in northern parts of Kenya like in the North Rift or in West Pokot, will cross very many counties before they reach Mombasa. There was a time when those products were being charged fees or cess when they crossed county boundaries. That is extremely punitive. When the products land in Mombasa, they will be very costly. This Bill seeks to moderate some of those excesses. It seeks to reduce the levies and taxes that are charged along the way. It seeks to manage that particular process in the country so that we have a unified way of guiding counties on revenue collection or making money. Kenya is doing very well in terms being an investment destination because our cost of doing business has been going down. Kenya is one of the preferred destinations for investment and we need to make it even better. The only way to make it better is to moderate the excesses in terms of the cost of doing business. In order to legitimise revenue sourcing for counties, we need this particular Bill. In order to create predictability, which is important for any foreign direct investor or any Kenyan who may want to invest in a specific county, we must be able to show what kind of taxes, fees and levies are expected in a given county. Therefore, this Bill seeks to moderate that development. Counties are at different levels of development and the demands for money are different. County governments will, therefore, be justified to imagine ways of raising money. In their imagination, we do not want to leave county governments to think through and come up with proposals. We would like them to be guided as it were. In order to enhance the principle of fair taxation and in order to have a guided country, we need to moderate roles of county governments in revenue collection. That is why this Bill is important. It is becoming very difficult for Kenya as a country, and for the national Government in particular, to educate Kenyans on revenue collection. There are about six or seven ways of how a government can get revenue. One of them is to get money from philanthropists. Counties can access that kind of money. The other way is doing business, like selling goods and services. We get revenue from the sales in form of taxation. The other way is the strengthening or weakening of the value of the shilling. It impacts on the amount of money we can get. The key way is taxation. Taxation has been a difficult thing to explain to Kenyans. Every Kenyan today, old or young, speaks about taxation. They speak about the load of taxes without even realising"
},
{
"id": 1498349,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498349/?format=api",
"text_counter": 509,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1498350,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498350/?format=api",
"text_counter": 510,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John Mutunga Kanyuithia",
"speaker": null,
"content": "that there are certain economic parameters that a country uses to measure the cost of living. One of them is the inflation rate. This country is living in a time when the inflation rate is around 2.7 per cent. The last time Kenya was living under those circumstances was before the 2007/2008 skirmishes. The inflation rate is now extremely low, which means that if you go to the market with some money, you can come back home with a reasonable amount of goods. What that tells us is that the country is not really at an extremely difficult situation. But we are not very patriotic as a people. We need to speak to the facts as they are and say the truth as it is. Our goods are also tiered. When you go to a shop, you can buy a coat at Ksh20,000 or Ksh50,000 or Ksh100,000, depending on where you want to buy it. Someone else can get the same coat at Ksh5,000, Ksh2,000 or even less. The market is structured in a way that gives provision for everyone to participate. Hon. Temporary Speaker, this means that the economy is not as bad as people are talking about it. It is time for Kenyans to become patriotic. When this Bill goes to the Senate, it needs to be looked into through the lens of whether we need a Kenya where everybody is given the opportunity to take the space or, whether, at the county or national level, to do their business well. With those very few remarks, I support this Bill."
},
{
"id": 1498351,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498351/?format=api",
"text_counter": 511,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Hon. Omboko Milemba, followed by the Member for Turkana North."
}
]
}