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{
    "id": 1431448,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431448/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 3804,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Uasin Gishu County, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Gladys Boss",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I want to give you a few examples. For instance, I know you have appropriated to the Judiciary. As we speak, Hon. Mbadi, many years ago, this Parliament appropriated money to the Judiciary to rent a building called ‘Elgon Place’ in Upper Hill. They refurbished the building at a great cost to the Ex-chequer, but they never occupied the building, ostensibly because they said there was radiation even though the Communications Authority of Kenya and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) confirmed that there was no radiation at that time. In fact, the Kadhis Court is housed at the same place. How do you appropriate more money for courthouses to the same Judiciary that has wasted money for 10 years to this day? It is the responsibility of the Public Accounts Committee to ensure that as we appropriate money under the budget, we are not wasting the same money. If there is a State department that has wasted money, it should not be appropriated more money. As you recall, there was a Judicial Performance Improvement Programme (JPIP) which was funded by the World Bank, the highest amount ever given to a single department in the history of the World Bank. I assigned it myself when I was the Chief Registrar. To this day, they abandoned all the buildings that were supposed to be built with that money. Why are you appropriating money to State departments that have wasted money yet that matter has come before your Committee? On the issues of collecting revenue, the Kenya Revenue Authority needs Parliament’s support. We have a big challenge in this country. For instance, we have consolidators who bring different types of goods in one container. That is where we lose revenue. Actually, some of the richest people in Kenya have made money through tax evasion. Parliament tried to ensure that consolidation is for logistic purposes and not for tax collection purposes. What happened thereafter? Certain communities began to say that they were attacking their business community and that they were going to lose revenue. It became a community and a tribal issue. What did we do? We rendered the Kenya Revenue Authority impotent. They were not able to collect the revenue. Just to tell you how we lose money under this consolidated system, if I carry a backpack of iPhones into the airport, that is Ksh1.5 million of tax in that backpack. How much more is there in a 20-foot or a 40-foot container? Parliament is busy appropriating money, but it is not supporting the Kenya Revenue Authority to raise the resources. We know that when many of you want to import something, you bring it through Eastleigh. Right? How much tax are you paying? How is it that they can deliver a car part to you at Ksh15,000? You actually see economies and certain parts of this country being built on tax evasion. As we talk about tax, we must begin to ask ourselves the hard questions. Another issue that I would like to raise is that we seem to think that the budget process is the responsibility of the Budget and Appropriations Committee yet it is not. It is your responsibility, Hon. Mbadi. For instance, when I am importing a vehicle into this country, I insure it. If my vehicle is worth Ksh4 million, I will insure it for that value. We are required to use international insurance companies, but when I declare the value of that motor vehicle, I say it is worth Ksh1 million. How much tax are we losing there? One of my appeals to Members of Parliament is that we must begin to make it compulsory to insure imported goods with local insurance companies. This way, the Kenya Revenue Authority can question why it has been insured for Ksh4 million yet it is valued at Ksh1 million. If we do that, we will begin to collect revenue. This country is capable of raising Ksh1trillion just by correcting those two items that I have given. I have many others, but there is no time to mention them. If you look at the issue of ethanol which is causing a lot of challenges with illicit brewing in this country, the tax on a litre of ethanol is about Ksh320 to Ksh350. In Tanzania, it is Ksh40 while in Uganda it is Ksh60. So, what is happening? We are exporting the ethanol directly to either Uganda or Tanzania and thereafter smuggling it into Kenya. If the East African 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."
}