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{
    "id": 1501930,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1501930/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 132,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, of course, as I expected, he spent a considerable amount of time looking back to the situation that he inherited when he came into power. In my previous debate on his Address last year, we said we want to encourage this administration to be forward looking. Yes, we understand the situation that was obtaining in September, 2022. However, you are halfway through your presidency, Mr. President. You cannot still be talking about the war in Ukraine and the strictures of supply chain out of the war. We want you to move forward. At this point in time, you cannot still be talking about 2022 and telling us that you have laid firm foundations that maybe many of us do not see. There were issues with some of the figures that were being thrown around in his statement. For instance, he claimed that inflation at the point he took over in September, 2022 was at 9.6 percent. Massaging of those numbers, whether by a small margin or not, is aimed to achieve a certain end, that the perspective to be painted is that he inherited things that were so bad, but he has brought them back to life. In fact, statistics from the Kenyan National Bureau of Standards (KNBS) show that inflation was at 9.1 percent. A difference of 0.5 is not a small difference. He also made a very bold claim that the foreign exchange reserves have risen to the highest in the last 10 years. That is not true. If you look at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) report, the highest we have had in terms of foreign reserves was Kshs10.01 billion as at 30th May, 2019, which was less than five years ago. It simply is not true that the reserves are at the highest in the last 10 years. There is also a claim that the Senate Majority Leader has tried to repeat here. He made a very clear pronouncement that the Social Health Authority (SHA) will pay all October claims. In fact, he said they will be paid during this week. I heard the Senate Majority Leader saying he saw a list somewhere indicating that hospitals have been paid. I can confirm here that that money has not been paid as we talk today. There was also the issue that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale alluded to of a standing ovation. I was embarrassed for all my colleagues who were present in the House that day. I believe that you are not supposed to expect praise for doing the right thing. This is something that Kenyans have raised objections over for the past few months. I thank my colleagues in this House, especially Sen. Onyonka, who has stayed on business on this question of the Public Private Partnership (PPPs) involving Adani. They say that where there is smoke, there is fire. There were always signs, which were all brought to the attention of the public and to the attention of the administration. There was a point at which Adani's accounts in Switzerland were frozen and we brought it up in the Standing Committee on Roads and Transportation and Housing when we were discussing the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) deal. However, nobody listened to us. As late as hours before the President's Address, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum was appearing before the Committee on Energy of this House insisted, even in light of the new information, that he had gotten of the indictment in the USA of the Adani directors, that the thing would still go on. If there is something that we have learned about the Adani debacle is that if we stick to the principles in Article 10 of the Constitution, we will never get it wrong. 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."
}