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{
    "id": 1592104,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1592104/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 461,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank my Chairman. I am two months old out of that Committee. I must appreciate the good work they have done. I also want to thank the Deputy Leader of Majority Party for being candid. That is what Kenyans expect from all of us as Members of Parliament – telling the country the truth. The national debt as of 10th March 2025, is Ksh11.6 trillion. Out of that, you find that over the years, we have been having more external debt than domestic debt. Now the ratio seems to have changed. We are now doing 46 per cent external debt and 54 per cent domestic debt, which means we are borrowing more domestically. If you look at the report currently, the proposed debt ratios, what we call debt mix, is at 2 per cent external, 68 per cent domestic. That means we rely more on domestic debt as opposed to external debt. The disadvantage with that is that domestic debt is always more expensive and has a shorter repayment period. A shorter repayment period means an increase in interest paid, thus the share of domestic interest payment will be higher. If we want to manage our debt properly, these are some of the things we must get right. Firstly, we have previously discussed everything contained in this Report. An example is the issue of commitment fee. In the Financial Year that we are implementing, from 1st July to date, we have paid commitment fees amounting to about Ksh770 million. We need to do something. That is why I agree with the Deputy Leader of the Majority Party. Hon. Mbadi has been one of us for many years. We have been on these benches together, saying these things. He is now the man holding the steering wheel, but things are not changing. I want to urge him that things can change because if they do not change, we will have a problem. Second, is the issue of counterpart funding. Why get a loan if you do not have your local share of the loan, and continue paying the commitment fee? This is just poor financial management. Thirdly, the elephant in the room is the ‘animal’ called securitization. I thank the Chairman for having picked out this one. The government is now able to get some money in advance, and the security is the money we expect to collect. For instance, we are collecting a Fuel Levy of Ksh7 per litre. On the basis that money will always flow in, the government can take a lump sum and then the payment will come from that monthly Fuel Levy. We have used that money to pay about 40 per cent to all the contractors for them to go back to work. It sounds excellent but as someone who appreciates these financial issues, the challenge we have with that is… I can see my time is…"
}