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"id": 217595,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Omingo",
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"legal_name": "James Omingo Magara",
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"content": "I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me a chance to contribute to this year's Budget Speech that was given by the very able professional colleague, Mr. Kimunya. I want to start by raising a few issues. One, Mr. Kimunya told the House and the country that he has no gaps, whatsoever, in the Budget. Indeed, just in the same Budget, my professional colleague, who is a friend of mine, has a deficit of Kshs109 billion that he is borrowing from the international community, domestic borrowing and by privatisation. In simple arithmetics, if you are on minus, you cannot miss a gap. It is the lack of the positive that gives you a gap. On the negative of Kshs109 billion, Mr. Kimunya should have owned up to Kenyans and said that his balance sheet did not balance. I think that is where we need to rise up now. We should try and give Kenyans a new perception. I think my professional colleague, without being personal, did train a little earlier than me. Therefore, maybe, the principles of accounting and balancing may have actually evaporated. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Minister said that Kenya's poverty level has decreased overall from 56 to 46 per cent. In the overall minus - and I think the Minister here was a little bit nervous - he said that the overall decline was 14 per cent. By a simple arithmetic, 56 per cent minus 46 per cent is, indeed, 10 per cent. If that, in itself, was correct--- Of course, it is not because we do know for a fact that, most Kenyans are more poorer than they were four years ago. I think it is important to tell the Kenyan population the truth. The reality of the matter is: It is those who have the power, might and money that are presiding over this country's resources. Such people do not understand what the poor man is suffering from. It is also true that some of us put on our first shoes when we were in 1940 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 20, 2007 Form II. I do not believe the presiders of our finances or the custodians of our finances have ever gone through the poverty levels that some of us have gone thorough, to the extent that they do not address themselves to the reality. Having said that, I want to address the issue of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, which the Minister increased to Kshs1.25 billion. I want to confirm here today that, as we talk-- This time round, I hope Mr. Wanjala is not here to come and raise those issues--- I know that the youth in my constituency have not received those funds so far. I want to thank God that, if the same procedure goes on, our women who are being cheated about the Fund will not access those funds before the elections. They will not vote for this Government and that is the intention. Therefore, I want to request the Minister not to politicise our Budget. Let us be realistic. Let us look at our Budget as a limited company. We must improve the Kenyan social good as opposed to being populist in our presentations. On initiatives on graft, Kenyans are actually aware of the fact that corruption has even further entrenched itself in this system. I said here last year and I want to repeat that corruption is more rampant than it was previously. What has happened is that we have changed the tenant in the bush, but the bush remains the same. We only changed the tenant in the name of NARC(K). That is why I am praying that true change needs to come to this country. The Minister said, and I quote:- \"We want to unlock the potential for the private sector development in terms of achieving the Vision 2030.\" Even 2030 is not my vision. I want to have results in ten years and I wanted the Minister to tell us between now and in the next five years, what do Kenyans stand to gain in the medium term? Some of them are giving us these visions when they would have long gone. I do believe - God forbid - that most of us may be alive up to 2030. These benefits we are being told are not realistic and are un-achievable. We are saying that let Kenyans be taken through the part of recovery and the Minister should break down this 2030 vision in terms of five, ten, 15, 20 and 30 years so that Kenyans can anticipate the growth they intend to achieve. Mr. Speaker, Sir, turning to expenditure absorption, the Minister also said that part of what is lacking is the absorption capacity of the Ministries. This brings me back to the critical part of identifying, entrenching and legalizing the Fiscal Analysis Committee of this House, where they need to examine and interrogate the Budget and be sure that we are not increasing percentages of Ministries from what they had last year, but based on delivery of services, efficiency, effectiveness and economical application of resources. Unfortunately, in 2003/2004 financial year, we got a report from the Office of the President, Monetary and Evaluation Department, in the Government, where we were told that Kshs30 billion was returned to Treasury for lack of absorption. That means that there is some poor fellow who wanted some services from the Government and never received them. For how long are we going to do the Budget as we choose? That we factor in a percentage on top of what was there last year to be able to justify and balance our Budget. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to turn to domestic borrowing and privatisation. I want to appreciate the fact that it is high time that we forgot donor funding. I thought that for the first time the Minister was going to be sure and tell us that this time round, he is going to borrow from the local market so that he can come out of conditionalities and arm-twisting of the big brothers. In fact, I said that he should have some commitment. Commitment unless delivered, is really not a commitment. I still believe and I want to imagine that the Minister is still going to depend on the big brothers and their conditionalities and arm-twisting. It is high time that we lived within our means. You cannot afford to go and borrow from the bank and buy bread for consumption. We June 20, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1941 need to borrow for investment. We need to borrow for growth. When you find a situation where you must tailor a jacket larger than the size of your body, anticipating an uncle to give you food to fit yourself in the jacket, it becomes a little archaic and a little primitive and does not auger well with the Kenyan population. We need to stand up and live within our means. I want to advise my professional colleague, Mr. Kimunya, that if we stop the wastage, we do not require donor financing. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Kenyans in the diaspora rake in US$1.2 billion in a year which is equivalent to more than double what Mr. Kimunya is depending on to fill the gaps. It is high time that we encouraged dual citizenship in terms of minimum reforms, that we have been trying to bring on board, so that Kenyans may be encouraged to go out there. This Government cannot even observe their own professionals that they have trained, for example, doctors who have gone to Botswana and elsewhere. They should encourage them to go out there and rake in more money for this country to fill the gaps, like Mr. Kimunya intends to do. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on the expenditure reforms that the Minister did intend to suggest, it is critical that we need to be able to apply our resources in the best interest. Since the Government does not actually transact in profit-making, their performance is measured in terms of the social good. That is how they have improved the well-being of Kenyans. How do we do that? Let us apply resources in the best gaining results. I want to turn to the issue of education. The Minister increased funding for education and I commend him for that. Unfortunately, we are craving for the East African co-operation and the federation to be in tandem with all the three countries' operations. Unfortunately, our system of education is 8-4-4 which is equal to zero. The other countries have different systems of education. For us to be able to compete favourably and attract other students to come to this country, we need to harmonise our education system. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to commend the Minister for directing Kshs800 million to the Bursary Fund. However, this amount is not quite sufficient for the purposes of improving and putting all the kids in school. You will also appreciate that poor primary school children do not get rich and start paying school fees at secondary school level. The issue of tuition fees being waived is another issue which the Minister needs to look into and we shall commend him if it is going to be achieved. But again, it is not for this Government to implement, but a new government where I feel I am going to participate."
}