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"id": 245928,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Oparanya",
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"legal_name": "Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to contribute to this important Motion. I will take a cue from my colleagues who took the Floor before me to thank the Minister for his balanced Speech. However, I have reservations on quite a number of issues. First, year in, year out, a Budget is presented before this House, but the Minister for Finance does not tell us the problems that were encountered in the implementation of the previous year's Budget. A Budget is presented before the House and we forget about what happened in the previous years. I am saying this because quite a number of projects are provided for in the Budget, but they are never implemented and we are not told why they have not been implemented. Is it due to shortage of funds or there was delay in procurement? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have a case in my constituency where the construction of Ebuyangwe-Ekero Road has always been provided for in the Budget. In the 2003/2004 Budget, there was a provision of Kshs20 million and nothing happened on this road. In the 2004/2005 Budget, Kshs14 million was provided and nothing happened. In this year ending 30th June, 2006, Kshs60 million was provided for the murraming of this road. Up to now, nothing has happened. We have not been told why this money has not been used or where it was taken to. Was there a shortfall in collection or a diversion of funds which were meant for this road? The Government, through the Chief Executive, promised that this road shall be tarmacked in 2004/2005. Up to now, nothing has happened. We should take a cue from countries where, before a Budget is presented to the House, implementations problems are taken to the House in form of a Motion and the previous Budget is discussed in full before the current one is presented, so that people can know what problems are encountered by the Ministry of Finance and what problems to envisage in the future. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am concerned that there is growing public debt and now the Government is rolling over domestic debt which amounts to Kshs51.8 billion. If you are rolling over a debt, it means that you are unable to pay it. Furthermore, even with the domestic borrowing which the Minister for Finance said will amount to Kshs29.5 billion, plus Kshs51.8 billion being rolled over, then it means that the Government is overstretched. At the same time, the Minister says that the inflation rate is 13 per cent and he is proposing to reduce it to 5 per cent by the end of the next financial year. I do not understand how he is going to do that when he is rolling over the domestic debt; when the domestic borrowing is increasing to 29.5 per cent; when Government expenditure is increasing to 12 per cent, while the revenue which he is not sure of collecting at 100 per cent is increasing by 17 per cent. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister said that he has a deficit financing of Kshs146 June 27, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1629 billion. He identified areas that he is going to raise money to finance the deficit, and one of the areas is projected loans of Kshs30.2 billion. I do not know what these projected loans are. The Minister said that he has not included foreign funding within the Budget. Are these projected loans local funding or overseas funding? There is a provision of Kshs18.2 billion to come from privatisation proceeds. Even in the last budgets, every year there has been provision of privatisation proceeds. This has never happened. I wish the Minister for Finance luck if he will raise Kshs18.2 billion from privatisation proceeds. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, within the domestic deficit financing, the Minister has provided refinancing of bank restructuring of Kshs20 billion. I do not understand how the refinancing of the bank restructuring becomes a proceed. I hope, when the Minister for Finance is replying on this Motion, he will enlighten us on how refinancing bank restructuring will be financing a deficit. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, however, I thank the Minister for bringing up the Youth Enterprise Fund plus that of the women. Like the previous speakers have said, I am hoping that there will be fairness in the distribution of money from this Fund so that every district in this country benefits from it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the most important issue that I need to point out that affects people that I represent in this Parliament is the sugar industry. The Minister proposes to move the Sugar Development Levy from the consumer to the farmer. In fact, this will be the first Government in the world to tax the farmer. The world over, like in the European Union (EU), they are fighting that they will continue giving subsidies to their farmers so that they are able to produce enough. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the last World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting there was an indication that if the subsidies have to be removed, there should be enough time to do this, up to the year 2025. Here is a Government that says that farmers have to pay tax and that tax has to move from the consumers to the farmers. We had a Motion presented in this House, and we agreed that taxes levied on farmers and the sugar industry should be reduced. This Motion was supported by both sides of the House. We were hoping that since this Motion was passed in this House before the Budget, the Minister would consider some of the sentiments raised during debate of this Motion, to make sure that sugar-cane farmers are relieved of some of the unnecessary taxes. I would like to assure this House that if the Minister makes the amendment, there will be problems in this country. Sugar-cane farmers have suffered for a long time. The Minister for Agriculture said in this House that there is a Kshs16 billion debt within the sugar industry. He indicated that, that debt would be taken over by the Ministry of Finance during the Budget. I never heard of that. So long as the Kshs16 billion debt is there, we will never lower the production costs. The production costs of sugar in this country are very high. We cannot compete effectively come 1st March, 2008, when the COMESA Safeguard Measures expire. Sugar is supposed to come in freely from the COMESA countries. Sugar production in other COMESA countries is cheaper than in this country. Surprisingly, instead of the Sugar Development Levy (SDL) being moved to the imported sugar, and that is what we suggested in the Sugar (Amendment) Bill that was to be tabled in this House--- The SDL is a good levy, but it should be moved from the consumers to the imported sugar. That has not been done. As you are aware, it is the Government that owns most of the sugar industries in this country. The Government owns 20 per cent of Muhoroni, Chemelil, Sony and Mumias sugar companies. I would like to urge the Minister to re-consider his position, that the SDL should not be levied on farmers, it should be levied on imported sugar. Since we cannot meet our production levels, we will continue importing sugar. The other issue that I should congratulate the Minister for is---"
}