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{
"id": 1618401,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1618401/?format=api",
"text_counter": 4505,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Product (GDP). On the other side, we have expenditure estimates of Ksh4,239.9 billion. That indicates that, ahead of anything else, you are already in a deficit of close to Ksh876 billion, which constitutes a fiscal deficit of approximately 4.5 per cent of our GDP in the next Financial Year. I am mentioning these figures because they are important, even as we embark on what the Speaker has read out to us in his Communication this afternoon regarding a mediation process with our colleagues in the Senate on the Division of Revenue Bill, which we will mediate. I want to take this opportunity to implore on the part of our governors and senators, that even as we go into that mediation process, we bear in mind the kind of figures we are talking about. It is very easy to throw around figures of Ksh480 or Ksh500 billion and say this is what should go to the counties. I mentioned this afternoon during an interview with one of our media houses. We all support devolution, and we would like to see allocations reaching Ksh600 billion or Ksh700 billion at some point. However, it is essential to emphasise accountability regarding how that money is utilised. A lot of this money is being looted in the counties. We must hold our county governors accountable for the funds allocated to them. It is one thing to demand funds and an entirely different matter to ensure accountability. Some counties have benefited from huge amounts since the inception of devolution. Yet, their people continue to languish in poverty with no health coverage, water or better roads, despite electing governors year after year. Some governors become wealthier with each passing day. We have observed this, especially in cases where certain individuals have been arrested and have protested by damaging the vehicles of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officials, as they do not wish to be held accountable. The EACC, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and all other agencies must know that individuals must be held accountable. If Members of Parliament are held accountable for the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), which they do not implement, the same standards should apply to governors. Members of Parliament do not implement the NG-CDF, yet when issues arise in any constituency, it is always the Member of Parliament who faces scrutiny. What then should we say about county governors, who are executive Members of the Government responsible for implementing projects? We must recognise that we have a budget deficit of Ksh876 billion, which is close to Ksh900 billion, equivalent to 4.5 per cent of our gross domestic product. This indicates that we must be careful about what we commit to as we enter mediation. If we propose raising an additional Ksh60 billion to increase the revenue of Ksh465 billion for our county governments, this would mean the budget deficit would rise from Ksh876 billion to Ksh940 billion. Consequently, we would need to borrow more, and this borrowing incurs costs not only to the government but also to the business community, which must compete with the government for loans from our commercial banks. The government borrows from commercial banks, just as businesses do. This becomes counterproductive. If we have to manage our public debt, we must rationalise our expenditure even as we enhance our revenue-raising measures. I know we will discuss the revenue-raising measure in the Finance Bill later this month. Allow me to present the overall figures regarding our revenue projections and expenditures. For our county governments, the revenue estimates included in the Division of Revenue Bill that we submitted to the Senate have been amended to Ksh465 billion. Initially, we had proposed a figure of Ksh405.1 billion. However, there is often a misconception that only the money distributed through the shareable revenue formula, known as the Vertical Division of Revenue Bill, is allocated to our counties. In actual sense, the total amount allocated to our counties is Ksh 405.1 billion, plus additional allocations of nearly Ksh 70 billion, specifically Ksh 69.8 billion. Therefore, when we aggregate these two figures, Ksh405.1 billion and Ksh69.8 billion, we are discussing approximately Ksh474 billion being allocated to our counties. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}