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"content": "making as well as having fiscal devolution. Yes, this is the first time we are trying it and Rome was not built in a day. I would appreciate if we all understood that this is something that we must work on together as we move forward. Hon. Kajembe talked about ferries and, indeed, we are working to ensure that the new ferries arrive in the shortest time possible. These have already been ordered and it is my understanding that they will be operational in the next few weeks which will ease the problems that people are experiencing. We are also working with our development partners to see that a bypass road is done so that it can bring greater efficiency and reduce the congestion that we see. Hon. Kamar talked about new budget lines being introduced. I want to clarify that there are no new budget lines that have been increased. Indeed, as it is the purpose of this Supplementary Budget, all that has happened, in some instances, is within Ministries. There have been issues. For example, with regard to some of the items that you have mentioned are programmes that were donor funded. The funding had not yet been committed. However, once commitment was made, we had to create a line to take into account those projects because they were intended to take off in this financial year. At the time of making the Budget, those commitments had not yet been made. Hence, coming back to Parliament to say that these monies have now been committed, we have given our counterpart funding and hence Parliament is requested to approve those projects. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, on the Ministry of Education, the hon. Chair knows that we have engaged with him on this matter extensively and he knows that as a Government we have full commitment to education. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, today the Ministry of Education takes the bulk of our budgetary resources; currently approximately 20 percent. What we are committed to is to ensure that together with the Parliamentary Committees we can work towards creating growth and efficiency. If, indeed, there are areas where they can be trimmed and release more resources from within their programmes they can be put into greater quality in terms of providing more teachers and so forth. We were more than happy, as I have mentioned earlier to the chair, and as I said in previous sessions with the committee; we would have no problem to ensure that is done, because ultimately we do not want to produce quantity. We must also be focused on quality. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in conclusion, as I thank all those who have supported this particular Motion I want to make something clear; I think this is important. Over the last year, I have spent a lot of time in this House, in committees of Parliament and engaged those committees, and at no time, unless for reasons beyond our control, did we fail to appear; we have always made ourselves available. When we talk about the Budget there is a tendency sometimes to say we are giving you money. I am not being given any money. This is not money that belongs to me, nor, for that matter, money that belongs to the Treasury. This is money that belongs to the people of the Republic of Kenya. It is not Treasury that sits down and sets priorities for Ministries; it is the Ministries that set their own priorities within a framework of a vision that we, as a House, approved, the Vision 2030. We endorsed that document and that is the working document within whose framework Ministries, as sub sectors, create their own priorities and their own strategic plans. All we do at the Treasury is manage the resource envelope. We manage that resource envelope, while at the same time striving to ensure that we maintain proper macro-economic stability in this country. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, once priorities come, we only have a given envelope, and that given envelope cannot just be expanded. It is fixed and those resources have"
}