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{
    "id": 1461466,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1461466/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 259,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kinangop, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kwenya Thuku",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13380,
        "legal_name": "Zachary Kwenya Thuku",
        "slug": "zachary-kwenya-thuku"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I thank our Vice-chairman for the powerful address as he moved this Motion by the Committee. I second and support this report that emanated from our sittings as Members of this Committee. In my support, I take a three-pronged approach because I want to talk about three things. We can do nothing much about Consolidated Fund Services expenditures because they are the first charge of the Consolidated Fund Services. We have to pay our debts, the offices of the President and Vice President, independent commissions, and other independent offices, and of course, that comes as the first charge. This Report, therefore, gives Treasury the power to do just that within any fiscal year. Looking at the numbers and figures, Kenyans should be worried about where we are as a country. For example, in 2024/2025, we expected to collect revenue of about Ksh3 trillion. Out of it, Ksh2 trillion will have to be spent on loans and interest. In fact, Ksh1 trillion is going to pay interest on our loans, and Ksh900 billion will be the component used to pay the principal amount. It therefore means that more than two-thirds of our revenue will repay debts. As the first speaker has just spoken, Hon. Mbadi, who is the former Member of Suba South and a leader in this House, has some work to do in coming up with a solution to fix the debt issue. The withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024 poses more challenges to the Ministry of National Treasury and Economic Planning. This is because we denied ourselves or were denied an opportunity to collect Ksh346 billion. This would have gone a long way in bridging our fiscal deficit, which has increased now because of the failure of passage of that Bill to the tune of Ksh765 billion. We will have to look for somewhere to raise that money. It does not make things better. I want to say that this country would have collapsed if it were not for God being on our side. We faced demonstrations and protests that are going to shrink our revenue collection. If these protests are sustained and we do not get a solution to stop them, our country will go down the way many other failed states have done. God forbid, that should not be the case. We are enjoying a good economic time, so to speak. Look at inflation. We are at 4.58 per cent yet we have had these challenges. Thank God for the rains and the good harvest that we have been enjoying. Things would have been worse if we were importing all this stuff. Thank God for the 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."
}