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{
    "id": 1352669,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1352669/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 2429,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Wajir East, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Aden Mohammed",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice in support of this very important Report by the Public Debt and Privatisation Committee. I take this opportunity to thank not only the Members of the Committee led by the Chairman, Hon. Shurie, but also the able secretariat from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) led by the Lead Clerk, Mr. Chacha. The basis for us getting these reports is Section 31 (1) of the PFM Act 2012. I can read it for my colleagues. It says and I quote: “Section 31 (1) says that the Cabinet Secretary, that is, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, shall submit to Parliament, every four months, a report of all loans made to the national Government, national Government entities, and county governments in accordance with Article 211 (2) of the Constitution.” You will note that the Report that is being discussed this afternoon considered a lot of loans that have been contracted by the national Government. Those loans are not all the loans. The loans being discussed here are only those that are foreign in nature. There are no domestic loans in this Report. So, I urge the Committee, in line with Section 31(1) of the PFM Act, to demand the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning to report all loans, including domestic ones. The Supplementary Budget that we passed had a fiscal deficit of Ksh861 billion, which is the amount we will borrow this year. To reiterate what the Leader of the Majority Party has said, we are not borrowing Ksh4.3 trillion; we are only borrowing Ksh861 billion. Approximately half of what will be borrowed will be from external borrowing. The remaining amount of about Ksh449 million, which is slightly over half of the amount to be borrowed, will be domestic borrowing. So, this House should be given a report of the domestic borrowing in addition to what we are discussing now. That is what the law demands. Section 31(1) of the PFM Act also talks about borrowings by the national Government, national Government entities and county governments. Constitutionally, there is a separation between the Senate and the National Assembly, but the section states that the Cabinet Secretary must report these loans to Parliament. So, in addition to the foreign and domestic loans, we also need to see borrowings by county governments. I hope that the next time we discuss loans or another report of this Committee, all those loans will be factored in. Borrowing in public finance is underpinned by Article 201 of the Constitution. I would like to remind my colleagues that this Article states that burdens and benefits of resources must 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."
}