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{
    "id": 1352655,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1352655/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 2415,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13380,
        "legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
        "slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
    },
    "content": "putting into matters debt. In my opinion, we should have a Public Debt Authority that will be tasked to look into the issues of debt because it is becoming a big issue in this country and Africa in general for the simple reason that our budgets are just about a quarter of our combined public debt. At the moment, our debt is at about Ksh10.5 trillion, while our Budget for this financial year is about Ksh3.5 trillion. Therefore, you can see we oversee budget more than our debt. It is about time this House, in its wisdom, considered how best to deal with this issue and be in a position to oversee every penny that is borrowed, so that the people of Kenya can get value for the money that they are paying out in terms of principle, interest and fees such as commitment fees. I want to thank our Committee because in our recommendation, it has been well captured that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) will now be in a position to report to the House as to where they have put the money and the National Assembly will be able to check where the monies have been put. The reason we did this Report is that we looked into a situation where the National Treasury has borrowed up to Ksh213 billion in a year and only 11 per cent of that money has been absorbed or disbursed. If this is going to be the trend, if you look at this exponentially, it could take a whole 10 years to absorb Ksh213 billion. This should concern us. Today, we are moiling, toiling and having an issue with the exchange rate and the interest rate. We also have an issue with commitment fees because once you borrow, you have a grace period or a window as to how long it should take before you start paying off the money. The grace period is expiring even before we start consuming or absorbing the money that we have borrowed. That should concern us because I believe that the hole that we are in today, in terms of debt, is self-inflicting. As we speak, about Ksh1.1 trillion has not been absorbed. Monies borrowed over the years for projects that were envisaged are yet to be utilized. The projects have not even kicked off. Why is it that the National Treasury is borrowing happy? Why is it that we are borrowing money and yet we do not have a plan as to how…In terms of procurement, why is it that we are taking so long to procure such that specific projects that we borrow for do not take off? This Report will bring to life the role of Parliament in terms of oversight because we cannot just be overseeing budget implementation of our own revenue, which is so little as compared to the amount of money that we have borrowed over time. There is a recommendation in this Report by the Controller of Budget to the effect that state-owned agencies that borrow money or that National Treasury borrows money on their behalf, should be made to pay back if they are generating money or income. There are corporations like Kenya Power and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) which generate their own income yet they are guaranteed by the national Government. Interestingly, the Government takes upon itself to pay such loans yet the state-owned agencies are generating their own income. It is about time this House pronounced itself so that we do not get into an abyss of debt spiralling over because of inaction or lack of oversight. I realised today as we were debating the County Governments Additional Allocation of Revenue Bill, there was money that was borrowed in last Financial Year 2022/23. The same money was committed to budget and appropriated through County Government Additional Allocation Act of 2022, but the money never came through. Therefore, we are required as a House, again, to go back and amend that Act so that we can see whether the same money is going to be absorbed this financial year. As the Leader of the Majority Party has stated, non-absorption of loans affects our budget cycles and what we envisage as a country to be in the next financial year. I have singled out that loan that was supposed to see implementation of the second phase of the Kenya The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}