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{
    "id": 1383922,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1383922/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 754,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Homa Bay County, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Atieno Bensuda",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution towards the BPS. First and foremost, I appreciate the work that has been done by the team. However, I have areas that I want to make some recommendations or proposals. Even though they have tirelessly worked to come up with a roadmap on what would inform our budget for the next financial year, I would like them to come out clearly on where we are going to generate those funds from. That is quite critical because tabulating on theory and practical implementation are two different things. We know very well the tax burden Kenyans have at the moment. The BPS looks quite lucrative. If sufficient funding and resources are provided, Kenyans will smile for having a budget that will solve most of their problems. I, therefore, propose that, other than providing this House sufficient information on how we are going to raise the finances towards meeting our projections, we also need to be provided with what kind of grants we are projecting to receive. There are grants which we receive either from donor funding or whichever source. This must be clear so that when we are talking to Kenyans on issues of increased revenue, then it does not seem or appear to be a tax burden on them. Besides that recommendation, I would like to speak as the County Member of Parliament for Homa Bay. When issues are stipulated in the Budget Policy Statement, they are very clear, precise and factual. I would strongly propose that the same way or manner in which NG-CDF was quite clear is the same way we expect NGAAF to be clear. There is a lot of vulnerability in all sectors. I specifically talk as a teacher, and connect it with people with disabilities. In Homa Bay County, there are schools for people with disabilities. We have Nyaburi in Karachuonyo, Nyangweso in Homa Bay Town, Lambwe in Suba North and many others that I may not be able to mention. People with disabilities in those institutions need to be fully represented in terms of schools’ infrastructural facilities, food and security. When you visit the children, you realise that they are suffering. They are in a vulnerable state. When we talk about NGAAF funding, we are representing vulnerable communities. I consulted with the Chairman on this and he has advised me. We do not want it to be a story or an engagement with the President. We want facts on the paper in the BPS. My second contribution is on health. What has been allocated for health is inadequate. Although there is some progress, on most occasions, we have seen nurses on the streets. Health facilities infrastructure are inadequate. This BPS should provide us with the actual status of our health institutions, infrastructure and human resources, so that we do not put ourselves or governors in problems, where we are expected to deliver services that they are not stipulated and projections not given. Health is a critical…"
}