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{
    "id": 1503179,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1503179/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 419,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kathiani, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Mbui",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Secretary shall, not later than five years from the date of coming into force of this Act, take measures to ensure that borrowing by the National Government complies with the threshold prescribed in sub-section (2A). For me, what I am seeing is the starting point, because the five years is already there in law. At what point do we start measuring the five years? Apparently, if we pass this Bill, my understanding is that we will start counting the five years from now. That will take us to five years from today. But if we use the previous law, it is five years from the date we passed it. We are actually pushing forward the Government’s borrowing, within the period in which they would be following the law. Because we passed the law, they are not able to do it immediately. So, it takes a while before the Government can build the GDP and ensure that the borrowing we have already done is within the law. Therefore, that period started when we passed the previous law. But now, if we make this amendment because it is very similar, we will begin counting the time from now on. That means we are allowing another five years from today. I do not think it is the right thing to do. We should put pressure on the National Treasury to try to do it within the remaining period so that they can balance. Otherwise, we have to come back to the House in order to put another fixed figure in place to push our debt ceiling to Ksh13 trillion. We are moving from debt to GDP, and we want a fixed figure again. Let us sort it out. Let the National Treasury sort it out based on the law that we have already passed. Let us not give them an opportunity to increase or extend the time. With that, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I submit."
}