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{
    "id": 1533610,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1533610/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 924,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nyando, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Jared Okello",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, it is high time we expanded our tax base. Only actors in the formal sector pays taxes without sweat. Those in the informal sector, where a huge chunk of income lies, do not pay tax. No one has designed the best strategy to mop up the taxes that are lying out there without the Government's attention. When we were in school, we were taught that agriculture was the greatest contributor to our GDP at 65 per cent, including the provision of jobs. Indeed, agriculture still contributes a big chunk of our country’s GDP. However, the sector is never adequately or properly funded. The Malabo Protocol stipulated that 15 per cent of the budget of any country that subscribes to the Protocol should fund the agriculture sector, but that has not been the case in this country to date. As a country, we must achieve balanced trade so that our currency can compete effectively against foreign currencies. The current exchange rate of our shilling to the US Dollar is 129. Why is it not Ksh100? Why is it not 1 to 1? It is because we tend to import more than we export. As a result, we lose the value of our shilling as a nation. If we export more goods and services, we attract more US Dollars; and if more US Dollars circulate within our economy, the US Dollar loses value automatically, which pushes up the value of our shilling. Lately, the education sector has been a mess from primary school, junior secondary school (JSS), secondary school to university and other tertiary institutions. Something needs to be done. If it is a funding issue, we need to channel more funds to the sector. We will not revel about our time in school while our children languish in distress out there. Therefore, we must wholesomely address the issue of education. We must avoid wastage and pilferage of public resources. In this country, we have a problem of ‘budgeted corruption’ which must stop, going forward. The health sector is in a big mess. The Social Health Authority (SHA), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF) are not working. Everything is in a mess. Something must be done in that regard. Finally, we have a very big appetite for local and foreign loans. We must find a middle ground as a nation to reduce borrowing, so that we can be self-sufficient…"
}