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{
    "id": 1460740,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1460740/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 292,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, we should be asking ourselves whether there is a way we can exercise prudence in how we dispense the resources that we are given. The other thing we should be asking ourselves as Kenyans is how we can ensure that, slowly by slowly, we come out of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and all those things that have brought us to where we are today. I also want to caution Kenyans that, as much as we are doing that, we also need to understand that we should not expect a lot. You cannot come again and start blaming people. With the little we have, even if it is one project, let Kenyans see that one project. That is what is of importance. Let it come out that we had this little, but we got this one project. The quality of the project can be seen and be quantified to show that public resources have been spent prudently. The other thing is on the county governments. As we re-adjust everything, it is time we asked the county governments to come out openly on the much they collect from their local revenue. Is it able to support where we have had the deficit now? It is like, in Kenya, we have a local revenue that nobody cares about it. Nobody even says how much is collected. In the end, we are here talking of Ksh20 billion that we have reduced from the Budget. I am sure local revenue in each county could hit Ksh1 billion, that is, a total of Ksh47 billion from all the counties. It could even surpass that figure. There are those who are able to collect even more, like Nairobi. If it is well organised, we can have more than Ksh40 billion. We can even become the first county that can share its revenue by giving loans to other counties. It is about the systems of collecting revenue. The deficit we have at the national level has to now start balancing with the revenue from counties. We must also know how the counties are performing. Is there a way for the Senate to introduce incentives such that if a county performs well and collects revenue efficiently, it could then receive additional funds? It is proper to reward effective revenue collection and responsible spending on development for the benefit of the people. The other thing is with regard to education. You realise that in the year 2025, we shall be phasing out the 8-4-4 system. We are moving slowly by slowly. We must get it right with the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) from the word go, in terms of having free education. It can happen and it can work. We must come out of this crisis so that we start re-organising our resources ourselves. The other thing we should be telling our citizens now is that the courts quashed the Finance Bill 2023/2024. We have now gone back to the Acts. We are not hanging. There were good things that were meant for manufacturers and those are also gone. We also have to sit down with the Judiciary. While Gen-Zs are telling us to sit down, is it not fair to sit down also with the Judiciary? Not just a meeting, but we go for a workshop together and start looking at all the things that are coming up from all corners. The Gen-Zs are saying we need to practice good governance in each arm of Government. It also means the Judiciary must be part of that good governance. You must also look at the interests of the public. We are just sorting out Financial Year 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, but you have now taken us out completely, with all the gains we had put even in the other Bill. As much as it had a lot of complaints, there were issues of excise duty and manufacturing. We are now back to ground zero. Those are some of the things we must sit down and talk about. We do not need to complain much, or talk about it in the media. We need to sit as two arms of Government and get a way out. Yes, nobody can control the judges in terms of their judgments. When the country is in such a vulnerable state, any arm that will try to put us to the brink will be very unfortunate. In the state we are in, we need every individual and every branch of Government to feel that we are committed to improving Kenya. We must also acknowledge the challenges we face and work to address them differently from the past. A good example is the formula we had for assessing loans for university students. Once you quash all those issues, 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."
}