Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1275919,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1275919/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 443,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill. I think it is important that we instil fiscal discipline in management of public resources. I was sitting down here and having a conversation with the Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Budget. That is what made me actually contribute to these amendments. One of the things that made me feel very happy about this amendment is the fact that we are now defining the term “Parliament” the way it ought to be defined. You know many people out there would say “Parliament” and, in that case, they will be referring to the ‘Lower House.’ However, Parliament is both Houses. It is the Senate and the National Assembly. The fact that you are now requiring anything that has to do with the public debt to be considered by both Houses is an indication that you are beginning to recognize the importance of the county governments. One of the amendments talks about this issue of the debt ratio to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If anyone goes out there and googles the debt ratio to GDP for Kenya, the figures that we have date back to December, 2022, which is at 67 per cent of the debt ratio. If this amendment which is now being proposed so that by the year 2027, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of National Treasury would be able to lower this down to 55 per cent, it is something that I can actually be able to support. Already, the figures that have been given and calculated by the Committee have come down to 64.1 per cent, which means there is a slight downward trend of about 3 per cent. What is important is that, as a country, we now have to learn how to live within our means. Whenever I hear people talking about this bottom-up economics model, I actually tend to believe that none of them really understands what it is. It is just a beautiful phrase that we end up using and say ‘this is it.’ However, the reality of it is that if you go down and define what that bottom-up should actually mean, it should be defined in a way that creates employment and ensures that at least every county takes up a fiducial responsibility. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, earlier on we were debating and there was a Statement that had been brought here about the issue of pending bills. Pending bills contribute to public debt. If there is no fiduciary responsibility in the management of resources in our counties, to a greater extent, the discipline in the national Government"
}