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{
    "id": 193186,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/193186/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 171,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Maina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 75,
        "legal_name": "Ephraim Mwangi Maina",
        "slug": "ephraim-maina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I wish to contribute to the Motion on the Budget. Let me say that listening to the Minister reading the Budget Speech, there was a surprising statement which he kept making: \" I hope by reducing this and this tax, so and so will turn to the benefit of the Kenyan people\". I want to say that I was quite disappointed with that kind of approach. What Kenyans want to hear is a Budget that is addressing issues. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, today, we have some human beings who live in the most inhuman conditions. We have the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Listening to the Budget, I heard very little efforts towards putting in place measures to get these problems solved. I think we know that, today, we have about 9,000 IDPs. These are people who were living somewhere. I expected that the Minister would come up with a certain amount of money to resettle these people. We should not hope that there are donors who will come to support us. The Budget fell short of this. So, I want to say that it is high time we had a Budget that addresses our issues. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also the issue of taxing the salaries and allowances of hon. Members. Before I came to this House, I thought the salaries and allowances for Members of Parliament were just too much. Today, I know it is nothing because we spend all our salaries to meet the needs of our people. There is no need to expect us to do more than we are already doing. If it is agreed that we are going to be taxed, let the Minister bring the Bill to the House. It will follow the procedures of the House. But I want to say, truly, that this is playing politics with the minds of Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, many Members of Parliament here know that the huge salaries that they are being said to be earning are just peanuts when you compare them with what we do. I can assure you that some of us have hardly put these salaries into our pockets since we came to this House, forget the money we spent earlier."
}