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{
    "id": 1451062,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1451062/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 4446,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Maragwa, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Mary Njoroge",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance to contribute by supporting the Committee for this overwhelming work that it did to bring the Supplementary Estimates for the Financial Year 2024/2025. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I know this was tedious work for the Committee; they needed to look at areas to cut bearing in mind that wherever the money had been allocated, there was a budget towards that. It is also a good time for Kenyans to know that if we do not pay taxes to finance the Government, then we have to forego some services and development as well. Hon. Temporary Speaker, it is also within public domain that we are talking about the debt, which is pinning the Government so far at Ksh1.8 trillion. This debt has not been incurred by the Kenya Kwanza Government because we inherited part of it from the previous administrations. Nevertheless, once a debt has been borrowed, it has to be paid. Since we are the ones who are there, we have to look at how we are going to pay. That is why the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee has stated in the highlights that in every Ksh100, Ksh61 goes to repayment of the debt. We are just left with Ksh39 which is supposed to go to payment of salaries and also development. Then it means that some projects will stall and others will take a lot of time before they are completed. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am also happy that as we did the cuts, we looked at the healthcare sector, which is paramount. We looked into the health docket and education. Good health is paramount for all of us and our children have a right to education. Hon. Temporary Speaker, allow me to comment on two areas, as I support our Chairperson. This is on scaling down of parastatals with similar functions so as to save the Government money. Looking at the audit reports from the Auditor-General, every financial year, we see a lot of wastage and corruption. That is why the Kenya Kwanza Government needs to address the issue of parastatals with similar functions. Sometimes, they do not get money from the Exchequer and maybe there are no donors to fund projects so they end up stalling. Sometimes, a parastatal can enter into a contract and due to disagreements, they are taken to court by the contractor and they end up paying hefty fines. Other times, you find a contractor 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."
}