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"id": 1266743,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1266743/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Roysambu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kamande Mwafrika",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Our borrowing has hit the roof. That is why the Kenya Kwanza Government came up with the Finance Bill, so that we can somehow become self-reliant. That move was taken by the Government to make sure that we apply some brakes on borrowing and reduce it by paying taxes. Any non-performing business should be closed. An example has been given of Kenya Airways. Kenya Airways was given Ksh16 billion in the last financial year, and it will receive an injection of Ksh17 billion in the 2023/2024 Financial Year. We have never been given an account of how much Kenya Airways makes. Kenya Airways is operational and yet it does not make any profit. Let me remind this House about Uchumi Supermarket. In 2003, during the term of former President Kibaki - God rest his soul in peace - the Government injected Ksh600 million into Uchumi Supermarket. Afterwards, the Government injected more money into it, but it still continued to perform poorly. It did not make it despite support from the Government. After a short while, Uchumi Supermarket went under, even after all the support from the Government. A time has come when this country must be managed like a business. The Government should stop making losses. We cannot have higher losses than the amount of revenue that we collect. That well-compiled Report shows that our expenditures are more than our revenues. If you include losses and corruption, you will force this country to go on a borrowing spree. A time has come when we have to pay taxes in order to stop borrowing. The Finance Bill was opposed by the Minority Party. I am happy with this Report on how to stop borrowing. A debt of Ksh10 trillion is big for a developing country like ours. Therefore, I support this Report and request the Government to ensure that all the parastatals that continue to make losses are closed including Kenya Airways. We cannot be injecting billions of shillings into Kenya Airways while it continues to makes losses. With those remarks, I support."
}