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{
    "id": 20123,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/20123/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 476,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 166,
        "legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
        "slug": "martha-karua"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I subscribe to the same view as hon. Mbadi, that once this House passes a resolution proposed by the Budget Committee, which moved an additional Kshs5 billion to the Vote of the Ministry of Education for the teachers, the Appropriation Bill following that resolution must be in conformity with what this House passed. Article 221(6), which has been read out uses the word “shall”, to show something is mandatory. If you look at the entire Article 221, the Budget proposal by the Minister is a mere wish list. It is Parliament that has the power to look at that Budget and re-organize it. Therefore, it is imperative that the amendments, or adjustments, in the Budget proposed and passed by this House be included in the Appropriation Bill. Therefore, the Appropriation Bill before the House is unconstitutional to the extent that it does not include the resolutions passed by this House. Yesterday, I heard the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance alluding in this House to a subsequent discussion with the Budget Committee. The Budget Committee is a creature of the House and once a resolution is passed, the Budget Committee cannot go behind the back of the House and sit with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to make any other adjustment. This is the first Budget after the promulgation of the new Constitution; that being so, how we steer its implementation will lay a basis; a foundation, for how we will steer future Budgets. It is very clear from the reading of Article 221 that the power to approve is with Parliament and not with the Minister for Finance or the Government. Therefore, Parliament must jealously guard its power to approve. Parliament ruled on certain adjustments to the Budget proposals, or to the Government’s wish list, if I may call it that, and the Appropriation Bill should be in conformity with the resolutions of this House proposed by the Budget Committee. If this is done, we will solve the teachers’ crisis that we are undergoing today. Let the Government obey the law and let this Appropriation Bill be withdrawn until it is adjusted to be in conformity with the Constitution. We need your guidance."
}