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{
"id": 1129545,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1129545/?format=api",
"text_counter": 148,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Kinyua",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13202,
"legal_name": "John Kinyua Nderitu",
"slug": "john-kinyua-nderitu-2"
},
"content": "preparing their budgets both for the following financial year and over the medium term. It contains, among other things- (i) An assessment of the current state of the economy and the financial outlook over the medium term, including the macro-economic forecasts; (ii) The financial outlook with respect to Government revenues, expenditures and borrowing for the next financial year and over the medium term; (iii) The proposed expenditure limits for the national Government, including those of Parliament and the Judiciary and indicative transfers to county governments; (iv) The fiscal responsibility principles and financial objectives over the medium term, including limits on total annual debt; and, (v) the proposed division of revenue, including proposed conditional grants, if any. In a nutshell, it means that any proposal that Senators have regarding the Division of Revenue Bill, the County Allocation of Revenue Bill and the County Grants Bill, which will contain funds for conditional allocations to the counties, should be canvassed and forwarded to the National Treasury for possible factoring in the BPS, failure to which, it will be difficult for changes to be accommodated later on. Hon. Senators, Section 25(7) of the Public Finance Management Act provides as follows- “Parliament shall, not later than fourteen days after the Budget Policy Statement is submitted to Parliament, table and discuss a report containing its recommendations and pass a resolution to adopt it with or without amendments.” Further, Standing Order No.180(4) and (5) requires the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget to deliberate upon and consult the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Finance, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), County Assemblies Forum (CAF) among other stakeholders, and table a report containing its recommendations on the BPS within 12 days, for this case, being not later than 13th December, 2021. Hon. Senators, based on the importance of the BPS and the above timelines, I direct that the BPS be considered by all Standing Committees each concentrating on their respective mandate. The Standing Committees will then forward their recommendations to the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget for consolidation, not later than Thursday, 9th December, 2021. To enable Hon. Senators and the committees to interrogate issues contained in the BPS, the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget has organized a virtual briefing session for all Senators on Monday, 6th December, 2021, at 9.30 a.m., via video conferencing. I urge the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget to expedite the process and table its report on or before Monday, 13th December, 2021, to enable the Senators to debate and approve the BPS. Hon. Senators, please note that, pursuant to Section 25(8) of the Public Finance Management Act and Standing Order No.180(8) of the Senate, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning is expected to take into account resolutions passed by Parliament in finalizing the budget for the relevant financial year. Hon. Senators, I therefore urge you all to prioritize the scrutiny of the BPS, taking into consideration our most important function of safeguarding devolution. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}