Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1237030,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1237030/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 225,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Musalia Mudavadi",
    "speaker_title": "The Prime Cabinet Secretary",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 84,
        "legal_name": "Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi",
        "slug": "musalia-mudavadi"
    },
    "content": "We want to deal with Exchequer delays. Dealing with them will take what we call enhanced revenue enforcement, so that we collect more resources. We have to expand the tax base, so that we bring in more people to pay tax. We also have to intensify alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. So far, this has yielded very good results where billions of shillings that have been locked in disputes are now being unlocked by the Kenya Revenue Authority. We see this as a way of improving the issue of cash-at-hand. I want to tell Kenyans that we are going this route because our fiscal legroom is very limited. There is very little space. As somebody pointed out, we have mega debts. Therefore, we have to intensify and improve in other areas, so that we do not just continue on a borrowing spree. This is absolutely critical. We also acknowledge that there has been a delay, not just in the disbursement of funds that support parliamentary activities, but also in disbursements to county governments. This is something that we want to address. The President and I have had conversations with the National Treasury to see how we can smoothen this process, so that going forward, we can distance ourselves from these delays, including the delays that we saw in salary payments last time. These are challenges. I would like Kenyans to appreciate that these are not overnight occurrences. We are going through a cumulative effect of consistent omissions and commissions over a very long period, which has brought us here. Without apportioning blame because we have been elected and it is our duty to get us out of that hole, accountability will have to come into play along the way."
}