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{
    "id": 1459602,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1459602/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 224,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Baringo North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Joseph Makilap",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Whereas we cut our expenditure so that we can grow and live within our means because of the failed Finance Bill, there is a critical area that we, as a House, need to investigate and put sanity. We are losing about Ksh400 billion on tax expenditure in this country. People are very busy claiming Value Added Tax (VAT) returns every day. We are trying to raise more money and there is a lot of other money, about Ksh400 billion, that is going down through fictitious claims of VAT and other tax expenditures. There is no need for the Finance Bill to raise about Ksh340 billion, and then we lose another Ksh400 billion on tax expenditure. So, you want to collect Ksh300 billion and then you spend Ksh400 billion. What is the logic? We must seal the loopholes so that the money that is being fictitiously claimed out of VAT can be recovered and we allocate it in our programmes. Finally, I congratulate the Chairman here for telling us, even during these hard times, that if we live and spend prudently, and consider the sectors of our economy that take care of our youth, we shall have a prosperous country. Look at the issue of police officers. I congratulate the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs. Whereas there are other programmes that require to be funded, police officers are key in restoring order in our country. We want a salary increment for them to ensure that there is no go-slow in the police force, and they are actively motivated to render services like other employed Kenyans. I support the increment of salaries of not only the National Police Service (NPS) officers but also the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), so that they can protect this country from any aggression and extremities within and outside Kenya. Finally, there is the School Feeding Programme in Kenya. Those of us who come from pastoral communities where children go to school because there is availability of food, know that the School Feeding Programme is key. We congratulate the Committee for ensuring that there is money for the School Feeding Programme which will be administered by the Ministry of Education through the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK). The money will reach the very needy schools in Kenya. More children will go to school and be assured that there is food and they can learn. In some parts of our country, food is an incentive for going to school. We support this proposal. We can continue to enhance this particular budget through Ministry of Education and NACONEK, because that is the only way we can have learners who are stable mentally, even when they are in class. There are a lot of things that are being underfunded. There is some little money in the Budget for employment of other new teachers. We were expecting to employ about 20,000 teachers. Because of the extraordinary times we will employ less, which is better than nothing. Going forward, as we grow our economy, we can put in place more programmes for the youth, so that we can grow our economy and sustain programmes that will create wealth for Kenya. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I support this Bill and congratulate the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee and his team. Thank you."
}