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{
    "id": 1593007,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1593007/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 475,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Funyula, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Nobody knows where it is, who procured it and what it was used to cover. There is a growing feeling which must be resolved or addressed by the new Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning. It is alleged that the actual stock of debt in Kenya is unknown. We are always being given estimates. The Report has highlighted many facts which we already know, but many have probably been afraid of picking them out. The last sentence of paragraph 12 of the Report states that the interest has increased tremendously compared to the previous years. However, the most serious statement that every Kenyan must be aware of is that this elevated burden not only heightens interest rate risks but also crowds out essential government investments and inflates the cost of financing the fiscal deficit. They have told us that the economy is doing well but the reality on the ground is different. Secondly, the Report clearly states that there is no relief in the foreseeable future. Paragraph 13 continuously highlights the challenges facing the economy. It clearly states that the interest payment as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to increase from 3.2 per cent in 2015 to about 5.7 per cent, while development expenditure will decline from 7.2 per cent to 3.5 per cent. This inverse trend signals a structural crowding-out effect where escalating public debt obligations are displacing capital investments in infrastructure, education and other development-enabling sectors. The opportunity cost is stark. Resources that could stimulate economic transformation and improve welfare are increasingly diverted towards debt servicing of past borrowing. We cannot tell it more than we have done. The truth of the matter is that we are not doing well. The earlier we accept it and reflect on it, the better. The Committee must continuously be bold enough to tell it all and avoid the sugar-coated rhetoric that we have been fed all over. As I conclude, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Minority Party is in government and should stop lamenting and get the government to work."
}