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{
    "id": 1356789,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1356789/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 149,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Gatanga, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Wakili Edward",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the President’s Address to the nation that was done in compliance with Article 132 of the Constitution. I have two issues stemming out of the President’s Speech that I would like this country to understand. One, we need to appreciate that the 2010 Kenya Constitution came with an expanded Government. Therefore, it added expenditure that was not matched with revenue generation. During the first two terms, from 2010 to 2022 when this Constitution began to be implemented, it meant that the then Government had to borrow tremendously to a tune of Ksh10 trillion to ensure that they cover the huge expenditure of running a bloated Government. The President critically addressed that issue. He clearly said that although the previous Government borrowed heavily – close to Ksh10 trillion – this country cannot afford to continue borrowing to support consumption. He also addressed the issue of what the country is doing to ensure that we do not go in the direction of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Greece and even Sri Lanka, which have defaulted on their national debt obligations, therefore, bringing down their rating in the international financial institutions. Debt is an existential danger to this country. The President addressed that issue succinctly in the sense that we need to raise our revenue collection and keep a close watch over our debts so that we are ready to pay when they fall due. The Eurobond will fall due soon, and the President assured us that the Government is ready to pay that debt. The danger of not paying is that we will lose our sovereignty in the eyes of the international financial institutions. We are currently complaining about high taxation but the consequences of defaulting on our debts are that the inflation rate will spiral, our shilling will be devalued and our credit rating will be downgraded internationally. The President’s suggestions that we need to digitise our revenue collection so that there is no revenue leakage, and ensure that our debts are paid on time, are steps in the right direction. The President also addressed the issue of education, which is the equaliser between the rich and the poor. A country can only progress if it has a well-educated population. Allocating Ksh600 billion to the education sector in this financial year and employing 56,000 new teachers under the TSC to educate our children are steps in the right direction. I also want to talk about food. We can talk about many things but a hungry man is an angry man. The President addressed that issue by ensuring that our people can access cheap fertilisers. Finally, youth unemployment is a big problem in this country. The President talked about interventions such as digitisation, Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and housing programmes, which are addressing issues of unemployment I support the President's Speech."
}