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{
    "id": 1524961,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1524961/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 898,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "As a result, we are all in limbo. As we start this constitutional mandate we have of maintaining the debt system in the country, it is important to implore the National Treasury to avail the necessary paperwork which must be easy to understand and comprehend. Kindly, allow me to touch on one of the issues that arose regarding our debts in the meetings we held with the Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury. We were convinced that most of the money that we borrow goes to recurrent expenses and not development. This is why there is a hue and cry in the country as to why we borrow and cannot see any development. Hon. Temporary Speaker, it was explained to us that if you borrow money and you do not use it prudently, later on, you would have two problems. One, the debt would be unpopular. Two, you would not see the sense of repaying, and this is the reason why some countries default on their debt obligations. Therefore, it is vitally important for the country to know that we are incurring debts, both domestic and external, but the purpose of those debts is to ensure that the country is better than where it is. We posed one question: Are there countries in this world that are debt-free? We felt that Kenya would in future be a debt-free country. The economists and finance specialists informed us that they are not aware of any country in the world that is debt- free. What they know for sure is that some developed countries are more indebted than developing countries, but they use their monies very prudently. Therefore, to improve transparency and accountability in the anticipated increase of domestic borrowing, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury should do the following: 1. Within 60 days, form a working committee to establish criteria for assessing effective utilisation of borrowed money; and 2. Record the debt register in details on the utilisation of the money, so that everybody who wants to know how a debt was spent has that information. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}