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{
    "id": 1051866,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1051866/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 103,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "So, the issues of debt from the domestic market and the budget deficit must be addressed if we want to rescue this country and save our economy, and for the future. The biggest project that this Government does every year is paying our debt. We send more than thrice the amount of money we give to counties. We hit Kshs1 trillion annually yet we are fighting for Kshs370 billion to the counties. So, the biggest project is our debt payment. Another issue is the non-concessionary loans that are domestic in nature. I wish I was a Member of that Committee, but I am sure even with my remarks I will never be put there. We should have tasked the Cabinet Secretary to tell us which ones he has negotiated because you need to renegotiate those loans. You will find loans for five or seven years being repaid at 23 per cent interest yet you can get concessionary loans at close to three or even one per cent interest and spread them to 30 years and beyond so that you reduce the pressure. Like I said yesterday on a different topic, our Constitution says that the burden of debt must be shared between generations. I really pity the next President of this country because apart from servicing debt, probably there is nothing else he will do. If you look at the revenue outlook, I am glad the Whip is the one who has been saying how we are squeezing the goose that lays the golden egg, our revenue philosophy has become one of policing rather than that of incubating and building industry. Again, I will refer you to the former Government where President Mwai Kibaki used to say kulipa Uhuru in kujitegea. He would encourage Kenyans everywhere on why they need to pay debt. They would even register a business on your behalf for you to be able to pay your taxes. However, today when you have a tax dispute of Kshs10 billion, the option is to shut down your business. So, not only do you pay what you owe, but tomorrow you will not pay anything else. Look at what happened to Humprey Kariuki‘s companies. We had Keroche Breweries and Sportpesa that were paying a lot of taxes. We fight over the little that we do not agree on and kill that much that is being paid. I think the philosophy of criminalizing businesses instead of encouraging and nurturing should stop. Look at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States (US). They will assist you to grow your business so that they can have a bigger pool from where they raise revenue. That is something that must be looked at. It is encouraging that diaspora remittances have gone up despite COVID-19, but we need to be careful. I am sure that the Committee on Finance and Budget are aware of this because they were shown the figures. When you look at the fact that our four months import cover is good, remember that in the last financial year, the cost of fuel went down. The cost of fuel was very low and you know that during COVID-19, there was very little international travel. Therefore, the demand was low. When the demand was low, then we were able to say we have ―X‖ amount of reserves. If you look at the projections and in the past few weeks how much the price of fuel has been going up, those numbers that you have been given might be fictitious to a certain extent. I would like you to look at it in terms of moving forward in the year. International travel has opened up. Planes are back; whether it is Emirates Airlines, Delta, Kenya Airways et cetera. Therefore, we will not be able to have that kind The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}