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{
    "id": 1458019,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1458019/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Allow me to first thank the Committee on Budget and Appropriations for a job well done. The country is going through unprecedented times in terms of our public finances. It is a very tricky balancing act to ensure that all the interests, programmes and projects are taken care of in the country, despite the fiscal limitations that we face. Having said that, I would just like to point out the fact that the money for absorbing all the JSS intern teachers has been included. In Tetu Constituency, we have quite a number of JSS intern teachers and we are very excited that they are going to be on permanent and pensionable basis. Health care is a serious issue in this country. Recently, we saw doctors on a very prolonged strike demanding placements. We have seen community health workers and other healthcare professionals cry saying that they would like to be absorbed and get a fair share of wages in terms of the important contribution they make to this country. Seeing that Ksh3.7 billion has been provided for the absorption of these healthcare workers is a step in the right direction. We have been talking about guaranteed minimum returns for a long time. These include our coffee, milk and tea. We are excited to see that in this Bill, despite the limitations that we face, Ksh1.5 billion is going to go to milk stabilisation which is a form of guaranteed minimum return. My own farmers in Tetu will receive this news warmly because we are milk farmers. We have another Ksh3 billion going to the Coffee Cherry Fund. This ensures that our farmers can be paid even before their coffee has been sold at the auction. They can get at least Ksh80 for their cherries. The Ksh3 billion will go a long way in supporting this. We have many coffee debts especially in Nyeri, Tetu some of which date back to between 10 to 20 years. The fact that we have provided Ksh2 billion to write-off some of these coffee debts is a welcome relief. Another Ksh2 billion has been given to provide milk coolers. I am confident that in my own Nyeri County, Tetu Constituency, we are going to see some of these milk coolers coming to help us deal with the challenges that we have of milk spoilage, wastage and the ability to store milk when we have an abundance during the rainy season. Our roads and especially the Mau Mau Road, Lot 3 Roads have stalled for some period of time. We are told the contractor owes a lot of money. I am however, excited to see that in this Appropriation Bill, an additional Ksh645 million has been provided to ensure that we can revive these roads. Like I have said, we are in a very tight fiscal space. It is important that we keep reminding the people who are going to be custodians of these finances that these are public finances. They have to be used well. We have to ensure that we optimise every shilling. Previous studies have shown that the value of money we get is 60 cents for every shilling. It is time we improved our fiscal management. It is time we streamlined our procurement processes and usage, so that we can raise our efficiency levels from the current 60 cents to 90 cents or even more for every shilling we get. We do not have the space to raise additional revenues yet wananchi are still demanding services, and rightly so, because that is why they elected their government. I support and pray that all the people in charge use money prudently, so that we can achieve all the things that we promised our people and ensure that the taxpayer gets value for their money."
}