Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1522750,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522750/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 194,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I heard what Hon. Jack Wamboka raised. I agree, to an extent, with the response by Hon. Omboko. For Hon. Wamboka’s benefit, this is not the first time the Speaker has directed that the budget process, whether it is the BPS or the Budget itself, be handled by the Liaison Committee. Those of us who were here in the 11th Parliament remember that during mid-term, the entire Budget and Appropriations Committee was disbanded by the House through a Motion tabled by the late Hon. Jakoyo Midiwo. It dismissed the entire Budget and Appropriations Committee of the House. For the next three years during that term, the budget- making process was done by the Liaison Committee under the able chairmanship of the then Deputy Speaker, Hon. Moses Cheboi. We still have a Liaison Committee. I hear Hon. Jack’s concerns that the Minority side might not be represented. When committees sit, they do not do so as majority or minority entities but as committees of the House. More importantly, the outcome of any committee’s report or work must end up in this plenary, where we are all present and where we represent the people on whose behalf we engage in the budget-making process. Therefore, I do not find anything wrong in the Liaison Committee, as currently constituted, handling both the BPS and, if necessary, the Supplementary Budget II. The Liaison Committee is well-placed to consider these matters. Hon. Wamboka asked whether the chairpersons of Departmental Committees will be considering their own budgets. It is true that they actually present their own budgets before the Budget and Appropriations Committee which weighs submissions from each Departmental Committee. When I chaired the Budget and Appropriations Committee, some chairpersons requested to sit in during the Committee’s deliberations to understand the ceilings they had and how resources were allocated across departments. Nothing stops any chairperson or a Member with an interest that they may want to engage in, like the BPS process, from seeking permission from the Member chairing to appear before the Liaison Committee. The Leader and Minority Party is not there but the Whip is there. As we indicated in the House Business Committee yesterday, we are completing the reconstitution of all committees and that is why you did not see me, Hon. Millie and Hon. Junet here this morning and part of yesterday evening. The Committee on Selection is due to sit on Thursday, 27th February 2025 afternoon at 4.00 p.m. Once that is done and the list of the reconstituted committees is approved by the House Business Committee, they will catch up on the finalisation of the Debt Management Strategy Paper, BPS, and the Supplementary Appropriations Bill. I re-assure Hon. Jack Wamboka that there is nothing to worry about. Any outcome will be returned to this plenary for approval. I believe Hon. Jack is satisfied now."
}