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{
    "id": 1119294,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1119294/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 371,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, it is sad that as we discuss this matter, the House is virtually empty. I hope our colleagues are following. I hope everybody gets a chance to read through this Report, especially those that are not Members of the Committee on Finance and Budget. The things people presented to us were shocking. It is unfortunate because there is no problem currently that is be-devilling Kenya, which you cannot trace back to the issue of debt, including even the fuel we were talking about last week. Why are we increasing it? It is because it is an International Monetary Fund (IMF) condition. We have been told we have got to raise it, otherwise, you are not meeting your obligations. That is why the cost of fuel and energy has to go up. Madam Temporary Speaker, if you talk about the challenges we are having in the National Assembly, the other day with regards to health and the amendment to National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) Act. Why are they reviewing some of the services that NHIF has to provide? First of all, the institution no longer has the financial ability to run itself. You know how sad this issue is; that a few months ago, maybe a year or two at most, many of our well to do public institutions were duped into releasing their cash reserves back to the National Treasury with a beautiful story. They were told this money as Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC), Kenya Railways and NSSF, you are keeping it in local banks. The same local banks are lending it to us, as the national Government. Why do you not give us this money? That was the saddest thing that happened. They whooped together almost close to Kshs100 billion. All that money went to pay debt. As it is right now, most of those institutions cannot even last more than a month or two without Exchequer releases. These were well run institutions. They were ranked as some of our best parastatals. People were coming from as far as Zimbabwe, Malawi and the rest of the regions to study how some of these institutions are run. However, because of the issue of debt, we are where we are today. Madam Temporary Speaker, what are the proposals that the Committee on Budget and Finance is giving to this House for consideration? First is the legislative proposal which I have looked at. What we have said is that much as we know what needs to be done, I am sure you will listen as the rest of the Senators present about consolidation of our fiscal deficit. That is ensuring that, first, we live within our means. We will do all those things, but let us listen to the culprits first. The people who have led us into this mess, what proposals will they be giving? Secondly and most important, which is being mentioned, is openness in the debt process. I have mentioned the sad experience that we had to go through while looking through this particular documentation. As a representative of the people, the people of Kericho County expect me to know better. When we go to public functions and speak about debt, they look at you and ask: Who is this that we have borrowed from? What was the collateral that was given to Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)? I remain as clueless just as the people who are not in this House. It is not fair to them. I feel bad about it. Madam Temporary Speaker, as a House, we need to do better. When we speak about openness with regards to how we are handling our debt--- When that legislative proposal comes before us, we will make a checklist of what it takes before any lender can know that they are doing genuine business with the people of Kenya. By the way, this is something that we may want to consider later on. How sure are we that some of these monies actually made it to the Republic of Kenya? We will"
}