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{
    "id": 1076761,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1076761/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 506,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Danson Mwashako",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13509,
        "legal_name": "Danson Mwashako Mwakuwona",
        "slug": "danson-mwashako-mwakuwona"
    },
    "content": "under pending bills. We have other counties that have been marginalised in the same area. Therefore, when we cannot start new projects just because we have pending bills, it means that we are continuing to disenfranchise some communities that have not been benefiting through projects. We have a road that has been advertised just waiting to be awarded. I will give an example. I have a road in my constituency that has been advertised, and the contractor has been identified but the tender cannot be awarded because we are waiting for pending bills to be cleared. I am talking about the Musau-Mbale-Werugha-Bura Road, which is a Kshs2.8 billion project. The reason for the delay in awarding the tender is the pending bills. We would rather increase these pending bills. Let us also be part of the Kenyans who are benefiting from projects. Let us continue adding these pending bills, if we are going to balance and have equity in terms of project implementation. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am happy with my Committee that has indicated that by 1st October 2021 the National Treasury should have come up with a long-term bond so that they can settle these pending bills. This should be respected so that by that time, the National Treasury should float a bond that will pay off all pending bills so that then, as a country, we can start afresh. However, we know we have the issue of debt ceiling. They are saying that we cannot do a new bond for infrastructure because this will require us opening up on the Kshs9 trillion ceiling for our national debt. If opening the debt ceiling will make us get our road awarded quickly; if opening up the debt ceiling will make Kenyans who have been affected by human-wildlife conflict to be paid; if opening up the debt ceiling will make the 70-year old and above get into the safety net; if opening up the debt ceiling will make the tender for projects like Mzima II to be awarded and done, then we are ready and willing to open this ceiling. We cannot live in a country where some areas cannot be developed every time because of reasons of pending bills or national debt ceiling. We must have this conversation as a country. Going forward, the National Treasury must audit all the projects that are done in this country so that we realise equity in project distribution. Finally, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am excited by a policy that has been mentioned by the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Education on recruitment of teachers. In this year's Budget, we have set aside money to hire teachers. As the Departmental Committee on Budget and Appropriations, we realised that it is important. We would rather reduce some money from the infrastructure that is managed by the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Education and have this money going into hiring of teachers. We will have twin objectives that will be realised. Number one, we will have most of our teachers getting employed and two, we will have additional income when it comes to Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) and, therefore, achieve our income targets. According to the policy that they are championing, they are saying that 70 per cent of recruitment of teachers must be from the locality of the recruiting entity. So, if we are talking about a county, then 70 per cent of the teachers must come from the local county. Therefore, 30 per cent of teachers should come from outside the county. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we have areas where teachers complain that every time recruitment is done, depending on who is in charge of education in that county, 70 per cent of teachers come from outside the county and then 30 per cent from the local community. I can give you an example. We have areas where 90 per cent of all primary school head teachers and their deputies do not come from the local community. This raises a lot of issues. Teachers come to us, as their representatives. They ask us when their children will be employed and yet they have qualifications."
}