Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1431423,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431423/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 3779,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "that have been budgeted for you within a certain financial year, since you do not know whether the said money is subject to review. Appreciating the challenges that we have had with liquidity or the raising of revenues in the country, it is only fair that the National Treasury and those who are planning do so with a lot of prudence to ensure that the revenues we project are as realistic as possible and as close to what the reality is as possible. We must also call on the Kenya Revenue Authority to pull up their socks to make sure that we are collecting adequate revenues to ensure that we do not keep revising our budgets through these supplementary budgets. I, however, note some good progress. As Members, we have spoken at length about how transparent our budgeting process is. I must commend the Budget and Appropriations Committee because this time round they have been very transparent in attaching the Schedules from Page 757 all the way from the First to the Fourth Schedule, including the changes that have been made. This is very good because it allows Members to interrogate the changes that have been made by the Budget and Appropriations Committee. This is so that we avoid the temptation that I have always seen over the years of blaming the Budget and Appropriations Committee Members that they have reallocated money without the knowledge of the House. I have also seen Members accusing each other, and I am part of the Members who have been on the receiving end. The other day, I saw the Member for Yatta Constituency ignorantly speaking on television claiming that money that had been allocated to Kiambu County was diverted to Kikuyu Constituency, and I wondered. This is a Member who sits in this House, budgets and appropriates, and is always in this House. Where was he when that money was being reallocated? It is not possible for one Member of this House to reallocate resources from one constituency to another. These changes are usually in these Schedules. I thank the Chairman of the Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations because of the disclosures that he is making, so that even as we speak on television stations, we do not exhibit our ignorance of the budgeting process. It is good that every new Member of Parliament is taken through the budgeting process of this House. From the Schedules, I was looking at the induction of this House, and we had at least three-and-a-half hours of the induction programme. I encourage the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee to keep educating Members. Speak and engage them on the budgeting process, even through committees, so that we speak out there from a point of knowledge. This is not just by riding on things circulated on social media or mentioning other people’s names thinking that that will give you popularity in your village. I saw the Member for Yatta mentioning my name on television. I forgive him because I know he has to mention my name to remain relevant to his people. I will move on to these Schedules. The Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee has mentioned a number of critical changes and issues touching on Article 223. Again, we indicated and it has been the position of this House that Article 223 is only for emergency cases. Article 223 is not used to allocate money to the Office of the Leader of the Majority Party for tea. That is not an emergency. With the emergency of flooding we have faced as a country, it is good more resources are going towards mitigation of the issues right from the money paid to people being moved from riparian reserves within the city and in other areas where people have been asked to move away from rivers and those prone to floods and other dangers. Money has been put to ensure that these people are well compensated. I am glad and I must thank the Ministry of Interior and National Administration that, for the first time, even as we have seen houses demolished in Nairobi, all the people who are 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."
}