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{
    "id": 1222195,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1222195/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 263,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I cannot go through all the recommendations but if you look at the currency exchange fluctuations, it is obvious that if you borrow and pay in dollars, you are generating money in Kenyan Shillings. You are at a loss even before you start. I agree with that recommendation. When you look at loans which we are paying commitment fees for, I have been in the system and know how this works. The main thing about commitment fees is unpreparedness at the time of taking the loan. It happens when you want to implement a project that you have not done basic background check on what you are going to do. The other element that then complicates it is that those we are borrowing from are aware that we are not ready. At the time of the negotiation, they put it as a condition that before they start disbursing the money, we must pay commitment fees. They know very well that this will take us a long time. Sometimes the loan itself comes with conditions that make it difficult to start, for example, the structures we need to put in place. Sometimes you find that the Government structures as they are, are not being used to implement a loan. New structures need to be put in place and if you do not take that into consideration early, it will take you a year or two to put new structures before the loan disbursement starts. In that time, you are paying a commitment fee. That is something we should look at. I like the recommendations that the Committee is proposing that within two months the National Treasury should submit to the House solutions of non-performing loans. As we go through the Budget, we do not know about non-performing loans, yet we are paying for them. I really support that. We may need to undertake sensitivity analysis in the midterm to submit to the House within two weeks a contingency plan on measures to undertake in the event of a revenue shortfall. That actually is the crux of the matter. You cannot get to a position where you have a revenue shortfall and you are in the budget process and now is when you are starting to look at how you go about it. That is something that we have seen earlier. If you look at the financial solutions, I only mentioned two. The deficit target you should have is the deficit that actually leads you to lending. If you can link that to your Gross Domestic Product in good time, then you have a forward planning that will enable you to decide what amount of loan you need and the amount of loan that you do not need. If you come to the 50 per cent domestic and external, to me that is extremely important. However, the main thing is, where do we borrow and do we manage our debts? By the time we are coming to the budget process, we should know how our past debts were managed, what deficit we have and how we are going. Therefore, this Committee is important. I want to say something. We should look at the whole House. We have many committees that make many recommendations. Their recommendations are never implemented. Have we asked ourselves as a House why? Look at the recommendations the Public Accounts Committee makes; look at any recommendations we make, they are not implemented. Why? There is a committee that we do not think is important. We do not even rush for it when we are picking committees. It is the Committee on Implementation. I think we should go ahead to even look at the law, look at our Standing Orders. Actually, the Committee on Implementation is the one that should take the Executive to task. This was recommended by the House and you have not done this. There should be sanctions. If it is a Cabinet Secretary, the Committee on Implementation should say because of this we are starting an impeachment process because you defied the resolutions of the House. As we applaud this Committee, we must look at all our committees. Why do they make recommendations that never work? My solution is that we should look at the Committee on Implementation, make it stronger so that the Executive can be scared of it. With that Hon. Temporary Speaker, I support. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}