Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1241221,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1241221/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 295,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mandago",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13577,
        "legal_name": "Kiplagat Jackson Mandago",
        "slug": "kiplagat-jackson-mandago"
    },
    "content": "engagement with either the county or national Government and whatever they have built over time is destroyed. Therefore, it is appropriate that this House supports this Bill by Sen. Omar. This is in a bid to make sure that those who deliberately fail to pay suppliers of goods or services, they are reprimanded and should be recommended that they should not even serve in Public Service. Public Service and public servants have become killers of enterprises. They have become reasons for diseases like blood pressure because of failing to perform their duties while drawing salaries. Therefore, I support this Bill by Sen. Omar, that prompt payment due to suppliers is not a request but is a must that counties and the national Government honour their application. This Bill will cure the habit of the Government spending beyond the budget. Several counties have become mysterious in expanding their budget through supplementary estimates. Therefore, they end up with pending bills without resources in the future to pay. If some counties are to settle pending bills today, probably, the current governors might not have anything else to do other than to pay. Therefore, this Bill will ensure prompt payment and also address the issue of pending bills in the future. Once passed into law and if it is effectively enforced, it will reduce the number of pending bills. This country has good laws but sometimes, we lack enforcement of the same. Madam Temporary Speaker, on the issue of delays in payment, this Bill will also address transitional issues. Many businesses suffer during transition both in the national Government and county governments. There is a habit that has been formed that after every five years when there is change of administration, people come and pretend to do audits. The new administration then declares that they will not pay until there is a committee of pending bills. Those committees do not assess whether the payment is due or not. They are avenues of corruption where people ask the suppliers and the contractors for money so that they are paid. This has been happening in several counties and we have counties where the citizens are going to be petitioning this Senate. They have talked to us and they are willing to provide CCTV footage of officers asking for bribes so that they can make payments for what is due. That is a habit we should not condone as the Senate. As a House, we should support this Bill so that we can cure most of those challenges that have created debts in enterprises in this country. Those who make payments, sometimes make assumptions that a supplier is being paid Kshs50 million. They think that the supplier is going to get the Kshs50 million. In that Kshs50 million, there is Value Added Tax (VAT) and a loan from a bank whose interest has outgrown even the profits that have been made. Some of the businesses will be running into losses. That is why, in this country, it has become extremely difficult for any business enterprise to build serious credit worthiness in terms of doing business. Whenever they get business and there are delays in payments, there are delays in servicing the loans and it also affects their credit rating."
}