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{
    "id": 1431419,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431419/?format=api",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, I wish to highlight a few things to Members. As I do so, I thank this House because we have been very busy for the last two weeks. In what was to be a recess, most of these Members were working long hours to see this process come through. I also thank the Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Besides the consideration of the Second Supplementary Estimates which we will debate, we were considering the main Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2024/2025. At the same time, we had the mediation process on the Division of Revenue Bill with the Senate and consideration of the Equalisation Fund. Therefore, it has been a very busy period. I thank all the Members, and especially those who are in the Departmental Committees for doing a thorough job. The essence of a supplementary budget is a reference of something that could have been done better. Whereas I agree with this, I have also noted through the time we have been serving in the Budget and Appropriations Committee that dynamics in the economy necessitate supplementary estimates like the one we are doing at the wee hours of the financial year. This happens because economies are not static but dynamic in nature. The variables that make the economy are all moving vehicles and targets. It is for this reason that the Second Supplementary Estimates are seeking to align the Government financial statements as we cross the financial year to tidy up the books. This will ensure that it will be at a level where the revenues that were projected, which are now almost a reality, will be incorporated as we make the Supplementary Budget. That is why the total sum of these Supplementary Estimates are negative. We are reducing the expenditure by Ksh24 billion. Why are we doing so, Hon. Deputy Speaker? Kenya being a very optimistic country, and with people who are high achievers, we always set our targets based on our norms. Therefore, our revenue targets sometimes conform with our norm of being optimistic. Towards the close of the financial year, we realise that we needed to moderate our optimism towards realism. That is why we have a drop from the previous figure by Ksh24 billion upon realising that the Estimates in terms of revenue that we had at the beginning of the year were a bit optimistic. This is not to say that the economy is not performing in terms of revenue. We, as a country, are performing with a double-digit growth in revenue. It is only that we projected to collect much more. Therefore, we had overstretched our targets. Even as we tidy up the financial statements, there are a few areas that we have been working on. One is the area of Consolidated Fund Services (CFS). Members, if you check in the Order Paper that we have, you will realise that one of the areas that has a reduction is the CFS. If Members can recall, in the First Supplementary Estimates, it is the same area that had an increment. Why CFS? By the time you were considering the First Supplementary Estimates, the exchange rate of the Kenya shilling to the US Dollar was close to Ksh180. In regard to the other currencies, the Kenya Shilling was decimated. However, in the current situation, in consideration of Second Supplementary Estimates, the exchange rate of the Kenya Shilling to 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."
}