Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1258851,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1258851/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 972,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Funyula, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We are dealing with Supplementary Budget that is coming almost a week to the end of the Financial Year; 30th is Friday, next week. And this is coming less than a week to the end of the financial year. Does it mean that this Ksh34 billion or so has just been lying somewhere? What has happened to the Ksh9.53 billion that was meant for Recurrent Expenditure? That explanation is not coming out clearly and, for the many First Timer Members, they might not even understand what we are talking about here. That is why many of them would not be able to constructively engage in this debate. Members deserve a little more disclosure. That disclosure will help us make informed decisions. But as it is now, it becomes extremely difficult to tell exactly what is happening or what is specific. This is because the Budget is based on specific projects. For example, we are putting money in project Y or X. For us who sit in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), we are always confronted with huge pending bills that consequently attract penalties, court charges, court damages and those kinds of things which comes out of that kind of arrangement. As a country, Parliament, Executive and the Parliamentary Budget Office, we must be bold enough and tell the Budget and Appropriations Committee the truth. This is because they work at the behest of the Executive and not the people of Kenya. That is why we are entangled in too many issues. When an economy is in recession, you need to spend money. If the Ksh34 billion was spent on providing electricity, for example, to various villages in the country, people would be employed and would get resources from the infrastructure that enable Vision 2030 to get this economy to a certain level. Instead, we are reducing expenditure, no placid explanation has been given and somehow, you will find another scandal erupting from here. I can assure you, Hon. Temporary Speaker and members of the public, we will have pending bills, penalties and interests will accrue, and contractors and service providers will go to court. As I conclude, the Chairman has mentioned the issue of the structure of the economy. He has said that the economy is driven by the service sector, at 60-something per cent. They have also said that the primary production only accounts for about 18 per cent. Who is to blame? In any case, what is the problem with the service sector? If it is of high productivity, why can we not invest and ensure that adequate enablers expand it to all so that we get to a certain point? There are countries in this world that essentially depend on visa processing or processing services as well as tourism, and are doing far much better than our country. We have talked about value addition for donkey years and yet, if you look at the Budget that we have passed, the amount of money that have been allocated to manufacturing is less than 2 per cent of the over Ksh2 trillion or Ksh3 trillion that is in this Budget. Those stories they are playing to us are simple propaganda that has no value to the people of Kenya. But for now, because I have brought it under Article 223, let us approve it, but knowing very well that this is another scandal in the offing. We will get into the Public Accounts Committee in the next few years to come, and I will come and tell you that I told you on this day. I hope the"
}