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{
"id": 1618412,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618412/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4516,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Committee on Communication, Information, and Innovation, as well as Hon. Nyikal, Chairperson of my former committee, the Departmental Committee on Health. Hon. Temporary Speaker, this has been a very involving budget where chairpersons have engaged their departmental committees. They have appeared before the Budget and Appropriations Committee after listening to their respective Ministries, Departments and Semi- Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs). I would ask the National Treasury to ensure that they release the money in a timely manner, as this has been the biggest problem. They must release the funds on time so that these projects can be implemented. This Budget is very informative. It affects all the parts of this country. It applies equity in it. A total of Ksh2 billion has been allocated for the Coffee Cherry Fund to support the many farmers involved in coffee production. Some farmers may not understand this, and as a result, they may end up borrowing money from banks, which have very high interest rates, making coffee farming a slightly more expensive activity. They should apply for this Fund, which has low interest rates. Additionally, we have provided a fertiliser subsidy of Ksh8 billion. We have also provided a subsidy to the Kenya Seed Company for the provision of maize seeds and other seeds. There is also funding for the mopping up of legumes within the region through the Kenya National Trade Corporation (KNTC), which may also involve the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). A total of Ksh2 billion has been set aside for the sugar sector to ensure that the reforms are implemented. During the recent Madaraka Day celebrations in Homa Bay, His Excellency the President stated that we had not sold out the sugar companies. Instead, we have leased them out to ensure they become productive and turn around the sugar sector. For many years, our farmers, especially those in the Nyanza, Western, and Coastal regions, who have engaged in sugar farming, have not been doing well due to widespread mismanagement and corruption. That has ended up discouraging farmers. We hope that with the Ksh2 billion and the reforms within the sugar sector, things will move in the right direction. We are working under financial constraints and, therefore, in the revenue-raising measures, many people have said we should not borrow more so as not to continue incurring more debts. Therefore, I urge our county governments, especially through the Senate, that the Ksh5.1 billion that is being given to them, plus the additional Ksh69 billion, which is a conditional allocation, be well utilised to see development. If that money is well utilised, we should see development. In the recent conditional additional allocation to the counties, my county, Trans Nzoia, received Ksh96 million for road construction. I hope that the county government will properly utilise that money to ensure that towns like Endebess, Kitale, and Kiminini have properly done roads within their area. As many of my colleagues have pointed out, when you move into the counties or constituencies, it is easy to see a project that has been funded by the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). But it is very difficult to see a project that the counties have done. In this Budget, the NG-CDF money has been enhanced to Ksh58 billion. We hope that the NG-CDF money for this financial year will be released before the end of the financial year. This will ensure that Members can do their projects. We also hope that the funds for the next financial year will be released on time, so that the constituencies can complete their projects. Agriculture is the backbone of this country. With the Ksh8 billion subsidy for fertiliser and the Ksh2 billion allocated to the Kenya Seed Company to subsidise maize seeds, we hope that our food production will increase. This will ensure that Kenya can feed its citizens. That it is food secure. That is what we have achieved since this government took office. We have had good rainfall and good production. I think nowadays we no longer see anyone carrying a"
},
{
"id": 1618413,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618413/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4517,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "sufuria"
},
{
"id": 1618414,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618414/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4518,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": "on their head, saying 'bei ya ugali iende chini .' That is good. My friend, Hon. Oundo, 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": 1618415,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618415/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4519,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": "is happy that the price of ugali has gone down. I think the government has recently subsidised"
},
{
"id": 1618416,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618416/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4520,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "unga"
},
{
"id": 1618417,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618417/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4521,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": ", and now people are happy. We shall keep it that way. We, the farmers, will continue to produce more maize, wheat, coffee, and tea, ensuring that we have enough for our own consumption and even have a surplus to export. In this Budget, we have provided Ksh2 billion for the recruitment of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). We have also provided money for the recruitment of 10,000 police officers. This will go a long way in enhancing security within our country. The KDF has not managed to recruit for the last two or three years. Therefore, we need to beef up our security. We are facing new security threats. Many of our neighbours are unstable, and we must equip our armed forces to make sure that our country is well protected. In operations, we have provided Ksh6 billion. This is a very progressive Budget, and it will take us to the next level. With those few remarks, I support."
},
{
"id": 1618418,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618418/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4522,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Beatrice Elachi, followed by Hon. Lesuuda, and then Hon. Makali, in that order. Then we come back to the next round."
},
{
"id": 1618419,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618419/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4523,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise to thank the Committee, the Chairman, and the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury for bringing in a Budget that we can interrogate. I appreciate how they have tried to bring an inclusive Budget that takes care of the whole country. Mine will be very brief. Number one, I appreciate the docket that I always say carries Kenya, the education docket. I appreciate that you have given them Ksh168.2 billion for transformative education initiatives. However, the most important thing is that we have returned the money for the examinations. Kenyans will appreciate that the Ksh5.9 billion has come back for examinations. This had brought about heated debate, but we thank you for that allocation. We also appreciate the allocation of Ksh17.2 billion in support of the New Higher Education Funding Model, which will ensure that we have a Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to enable students from all backgrounds to access funding for tertiary education. More importantly, the Ministry of Education should assign a National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) number to every child. The day all our children will have NEMIS numbers will be the day we get the correct capitation and budget for the Ministry of Education. We shall know exactly how much we spend. In my constituency, I am still pushing to get resources for our children because those without birth certificates do not receive capitation. That is why some schools only got Ksh84 or Ksh400. The problem is not this House. It is the Ministry which has not given NEMIS numbers to our children. I also appreciate that we shall now move forward with the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project. We were unable to implement this project because we did not have the money to support it. The World Bank wanted a matching programme supported by both the Government and the World Bank. Going forward, 100 youth from our constituencies who believe in small businesses will tap into this. With Ksh50,000, you can start a small business. I also appreciate the allocation to Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Many of them were worried and sent messages urging us to ensure that it is there. I am glad that the money is now in the Budget and will support the employment of staff on permanent and pensionable terms. The funding of the Linda Mama scheme, which is critical in the health docket, is also included. We thank the Committee for going beyond that and looking at Gender-Based Violence (GBV), emphasising that the Government must fund the technical teams that work on GBV. That is one thing we appreciate even as we move forward. Another very worrying issue – I plead with the governors on this one – is that, while we look at mediation, why can we not agree as both Houses that we pay pending bills with the 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": 1618420,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618420/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4524,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
"speaker": null,
"content": "little money we get? Kenyan suppliers, whether at the county or national level, provided products that were used. Most of these suppliers have been auctioned by banks. The best we could do in this Budget is to set aside some funds, rather than focusing on the Ksh460 billion allocated to the counties, to pay our fellow Kenyans who supply goods and services and visit our offices daily due to their pending bills. That is the saddest part of the whole process. Hon. Temporary Speaker, even as we look at everything we have done, if we do not come up with a solution for pending bills, it will be very sad for Kenyans who work for the Government, who knew there was a need to supply an item, supplied it, but have not be paid. We are now setting up a committee to look into whether these claims are true. Why are we looking at this now? It means that we are all part of the problem, which is why we are devising ways to evaluate and determine how these payments will be made. Finally, I want to talk about the Ministry of Defence. The Committee observed that in 1992, 1997, 1998 and 2000, the Ministry of Defence did not recruit any new soldiers, resulting in significant deficiencies in the posture of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). To remedy this situation, they have requested Ksh2 billion to support recruitment efforts in this fiscal year, which I support because their reasons are valid. We are not being fair to our disciplined forces because they previously enjoyed certain exemptions due to the nature of their work. We used to ensure that they were provided for because they were serving the country. You will find the wives and children of those who died in the line of duty suffering because we did not put in place measures to protect them. The Government should ensure that veterans who have served our country are taken care of. Most of their privileges may have been taken away because of misuse. However, those in the camps in Somalia need to be protected, and we need to come up with favourable ways of doing so. Our police officers also have worn-out uniforms and shoes, yet we expect them to perform their duties. It is very unfortunate. We need to protect them because they serve us. They were trained, qualified and are now on the job. We need to dignify them in terms of housing. I appreciate the Central Bank of Kenya and other institutions which have established affordable housing programmes for their employees. We must remember that the police are the image of our country. They should have dignified uniforms. We created institutions to deal with corruption, which helps. The Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) was not formed to take you to Court, but to ensure that you do not mismanage funds. It helps institutions prevent the mismanagement of resources. The Office of the Auditor-General audits state corporations and assists them in avoiding similar mistakes in subsequent audits. The purpose of auditing is to clean up the books. The Office of the Auditor-General helps to reduce mismanagement of resources. I plead with those institutions not to bring bad reports, but also to help the counties, constituencies, and various sectors improve their public financial management. We will then appreciate the purpose of spending public resources. With those few remarks, I support the Motion."
},
{
"id": 1618421,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618421/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4525,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Lesuuda."
}
]
}