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"id": 192719,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/192719/?format=api",
"text_counter": 188,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Ongoro",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development",
"speaker": {
"id": 125,
"legal_name": "Elizabeth Ongoro Masha",
"slug": "elizabeth-ongoro"
},
"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in joining other speakers before me, I would wish to commend the Minister for Finance for presenting a well thought out Budget, especially against the backdrop of rising inflation occasioned by the international highs and a rising crude oil price. This is a budget that was read after what we went through early this year after the disputed Presidential election and the instability it occasioned in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to commend the Minister for proposing land allocation for infrastructure development. That is in view of what has been allocated for roads and rural electrification. Service provision was also very well catered for, especially with regard to the proposal made for housing of our police force, health care and the improvement of the quality of education by way of hiring more teachers. That was a very well-thought-out allocation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the allocation of Kshs210 million for the youth sport, and for football in particular, was a very good move. Most of us have had to spend from our earnings to support the youth in our various constituencies. I think that, that was a very good provision. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister has also done very well by resisting the temptation of unilaterally increasing taxes on consumer goods to fund the demands of the resultant larger-than-usual Government, or the coalition Government that was formed after we decided to move on. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the avoidance of direct taxes was also a good move, and so was the Minister's refusal to bankroll the resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) programme, as was expected by many. The Minister, however, factored in the IDP resettlement, but the estimate for this was not direct but discretionary. I support that move. In keeping with the spirit of reducing the inequalities in Kenya, and in an effort to share and raise more money to bridge the financial gap in his Estimates, I do welcome the Minister's proposal to have hon. Members' and constitutional office holders' allowances subjected to tax. It is my honest belief that we, as leaders, must lead by example. If we have to lead by example, we will lose all our moral authority if we refuse to pay our taxes. We will not have an opportunity to tell other Kenyans who are buying from the same supermarkets and who live in the same houses to pay taxes from their meagre earnings. In my opinion, it was a good move and I support that all of us, as leaders, should be responsible enough and accept to pay our taxes without inhibitions. Having said that, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I now want to address some specific concerns that hon. Members need to urgently level with, especially if you have taken time to go through all the budgetary allocations and have a careful critique of certain issues contained therein. June 24, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1349 First and foremost, hon. Members need to consider the creation of a budget office. I deem it an urgent matter that this Tenth Parliament should urgently enact the establishment of the budget office. That is because most hon. Members hardly have enough time to scrutinize the Budget Speech or the allocations before presentation. That will not only remove the perception that budgeting and the Office of the Minister of Finance is politicized, but it will also give the august House a better opportunity to get more involved and be more informed about the process. The budget office will also enable the august House to interrogate some of the traditional provisions branded \"confidential\" and demystify them. That will give hon. Members an opportunity to agree with them because they will have scrutinized whatever was presented and allocated. I have in mind, especially, what I have mentioned as the allocation to the Office of the President which, in many cases, has got a branding of \"confidentiality!\" It cannot be questioned. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as has been suggested before, the budget process should be informed from the wider public and stakeholders' input. The budget office and its creation, thereof, will help this House and hon. Members in getting the kind of information that will help bridge the existing gap. Secondly, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hon. Members need to address the issue of a possible budget deficit. You will agree with me that the 2008/2009 Budget Estimates presented to this country the largest ever budget deficit, presented at about 16.8 per cent. Of that total Budget, considering 16.8 per cent is quite a huge figure, I would not have been alarmed if the proposals to find the deficit were concrete and dependable. But I worry that the Minister proposes to raise Kshs33.6 billion from sovereign bonds within a year. Bearing in mind that we have lost about four months of this year, and when the Kenyan credit risk rating has, unfortunately, really plunged recently. I wonder, then, if this is a very credible risk to take at this time! Are we just risking to come up with a budgetary allocation that is really good on paper, but that is going to be almost impossible to implement? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister also proposes that another Kshs8 billion is expected to help bridge the deficit gap from assets privatization. From what I have read in the financial reports elsewhere, the closest asset sale looks to be the National Bank of Kenya. Going by what we have experienced in the past with these financial institutions, I wonder if it is going to attract as much attention and investment as what we experienced with the just concluded Safaricom Initial Public Offering (IPO). Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my look at the deficit in financing, therefore, is that whether financed by printing more money, issuance of bonds, Treasury Bills or from donor funding, which we are trying to run away from, this will still create excessive liquidity in the market, which is not good for our country right now. It will only encourage inflation. Again, it concerns me that such a large deficit of financing and the proposals that were contained will continue to grow the public debt; a burden which we should really be working towards analyzing and reducing, if not eliminating it altogether. My recommendation is that, as a Government and as hon. Members of this honourable House, we should encourage different departments and Ministries within the Government structure---"
}