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    "id": 1478607,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1478607/?format=api",
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    "content": "that MDAs can raise through the services they offer to the public; for example, the Ministry of Lands, Immigration and Citizen Services among others. We are also strengthening tax administration for enhanced compliance through scaling up use of technology to seal the leakages that I have just mentioned. We are also looking at state-owned enterprise reforms to generate savings and use of PPPs to take out commercially viable projects from the exchequer. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I know this is causing controversy at the moment but I would like to state that PPP as a concept is the way to go so as to look for funding for major infrastructure projects. This will take out the pressure from the Exchequer. Kenya meets its debt obligations promptly, and no debt arrears have been accumulated. Public debt is projected to remain within sustainable levels on account of the fiscal consolidation path that reflects a decline in the ratio of debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in present value terms over the medium term. To improve Kenya's debt sustainability and boost our credit rating position, the Government will continue to implement measures to enhance the growth of foreign exchange earnings by way of attracting direct foreign investment and pursuing an export promotion strategy. The last question was from the Senator for Kisumu who wanted to know from me about the Government's measures to ensure greater transparency and accountability in taxation and Government spending. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, my response is: In order to ensure transparency, the National Treasury usually invites the members of the public to submit proposals that will help the Government improve tax revenue policy and boost revenue collection. Number two, during the preparation of the Finance Bill, the National Treasury usually invites every stakeholder who submitted a proposal to shed more light on the proposal. Number three, during the consideration of a Finance Bill in the National Assembly, members of the public are usually given time to go through the Bill and submit their comments or views via a memorandum to the Department Committee of Finance and National Planning for consideration during the committee stay. However, there are two quick issues on how to improve transparency and accountability. When I appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, I clearly stated that we must roll out e-procurement to all national Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and county governments. One of my first tasks when I joined the Ministry was to find out the status of the position and where the e-procurement system, which is an end-to-end system, was. I was surprised that the bottleneck was the Kshs560 million needed to roll out the system. This is why we have been postponing the rollout of this system, which would help us make our procurement system efficient and remove possible collusion. I want to report that I actually gave authority under Article 223 of the Constitution, which allowed the powers given to me by the Constitution to make Kshs560 million available for this rollout, and the procurement is ongoing. That amount is not comparable to the amount we are losing as a country in terms of systems that are not transparent for procurement. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}