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{
    "id": 1504361,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1504361/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 272,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kiharu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ndindi Nyoro",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Committee that, as we have been advising the National Treasury and Economic Planning, the revenue projections they provide need to be in tandem with reality, because there are ramifications on that. When you set an unrealistically high target and fail to meet it, what happens by the end of the year is that the debt grows, or many projects end up being unfunded by the lapse of the year on the 30th of June. For example, in the last financial year, the country was unable to fund projects worth Ksh218 billion, and the only carryovers were Ksh30 billion for counties, a small amount for the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), and around Ksh60 billion for pensions. Developmental projects went unfunded by the lapse of the financial year. To make a credible budget, we need to set revenue targets that reflect reality. For that reason, the Mediation Committee deleted that clause that when there is a revenue shortfall, the people who set revenue are the National Treasury, which represents the national Government, and not the county governments. Therefore, in our report, we have decided that counties can no longer carry a burden they were not part of creating. Therefore, when there is a shortfall in revenue targets, it is only the national Government, as has always been the case, that should carry the entire burden. County governments should not bear this burden, as they are not the authors of these revenue targets. This approach also ensures that county assemblies do not pass budgets based on moving targets. When we give them figures that may change, we are essentially telling county assemblies to pass budgets that may not be fulfilled. That is why we have decided to delete that clause, so that in case of a revenue shortfall, the National Treasury, which sets these targets, will carry the burden on behalf of the national Government. The other thing that I want to highlight is that besides this Motion before us, there is another Mediation Committee meeting which will begin tomorrow, as there are discrepancies between the figures passed by this House and those passed by the Senate regarding conditional allocations to our counties. I urge this House to allow the next mediation to address the undercurrents. These matters are better handled then because it is the conditional grants that involve sectoral allocations, such as the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF). Therefore, the Division of Revenue we are discussing now has nothing to do with RMLF, and that will be addressed in the next report. I hope that by that time, we can engage in a debate on that matter, as it will be where it is domiciled."
}