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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Motion. First, I want to thank the Minister for making an effort not to factor in donor support, an issue that has made Kenyans very happy. I have been agonizing about the issue. The previous regimes used to tailor their jackets very big, yet they were not the size of their bodies, in anticipation that the jackets would fit them. For that reason, I want to thank him. After taking that measure, we have to finance Kshs50 billion from domestic borrowing, which is fairly expensive. I expected the Minister to trim down our expenditure, maintain and control wastage. That is 1490 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 21, 2006 what we have to do. In the report that was given on the Civil Service reforms, 2004/2005, Kshs34 billion was returned to the Treasury for non-use. This Government, as much as it complains that CDF has no capacity to spend money, most of its Ministries have no capacity to spend. That brings us to a critical point. Do we give the Ministries money that they do not need? Must we give them money which they cannot justify its use? That brings us to the issue of the Parliamentary Budget Office, which will oversee the justification of the allocations so as to minimise the expenditures and live within our means. For the first time, I am happy that I will not depend on a big brother to feed me, because I will be able to fit in the jacket that I have tailored myself. But we are still financing foreign public debt; 80 per cent of which is odious debt, I thank the Minister for not factoring in any Anglo Leasing type of payments. But how about those payments that were made in the past? How will we account for them? I brought a Motion to this House to interrogate the public debt that was incurred to purchase \"air\". That Motion was thrown out simply because somebody feared that we were going to open up a pandora's box! But today, I can tell you that the truth will live beyond generations. I want to make another effort to open that pandora's box and save Kenyans monumental amounts of money paid out since Independence. Were it not for the exposure and caution given to the Minister today, our Embassy in the Netherlands would have started paying an odious debt without knowing who signed for it, who implemented it, and what came into this country. Since Independence, 80 per cent of all the debts that we have paid have been dubious. We can use that money to provide essential services. I want to plead with hon. Members that, when that Motion comes before the House, we need to support it so that we can interrogate the debt and pay what is truly ours. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to say something about the Fuel Levy. The Minister, in a cunning way, made everybody smile by saying that he had waived the road licence fee. In simple arithmetic, that is only Kshs5,000. If you factor in a few inconveniences in terms of going to queue for the same, it is a maximum of Kshs10,000. But on average, a vehicle that most hon. Members drive will consume up to 15,000 litres per year. If you multiply that with 3.2, it adds up to Kshs47,000 extra. When you minus the net expense for the motorist, it is over Kshs40,000. You cannot plead with a bus owner not to increase the fare. Therefore, the Minister gave a small thing on one hand, and bit off a big chunk from Kenyan taxpayers. Today, a litre of diesel is about Kshs70 per litre. That cannot be sustainable, if you really want us to grow. I want to plead with hon. Members to support me when the Finance Bill comes to the Floor of this House, because I will move an amendment to reduce that to reasonable levels. Kenyans should not be over-taxed. The cost of living will go up. When you increase the price of fuel, everything else goes up. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on average, the Youth Fund amounting to Kshs1 billion translates into Kshs500,000 per constituency. That is a good step towards the right direction. But is that really sufficient? We must appreciate that it is a good thing that has come up. Let us know how that Fund will be administered and what structures are on the ground. We should know who are the legitimate beneficiaries because, in the current Government, a youth is as old as 70 years. So we must know the cut-off age because, to them, a youth is anybody who is 70 years and above. So, we must define the youth. I want the Minister to bring us guidelines. The Fund needs to be monitored, so that the funds could be directed to the right people. A sum of Kshs500,000 has been set aside to rehabilitate village polytechnics. That is a positive thing but, apparently, most of the polytechnics are dilapidated and Kshs500,000 may not be sufficient to rehabilitate them. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is high time the Government stopped running political systems. If you were elected to govern, please, do so. I am sceptical of the agenda by companies and individuals applying for tax waivers of up to Kshs1 million. We will have a June 21, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1491 scenario of business persons queuing into political parties which are perceived to be forming Government, so that they could be donated money for projects of their own choice. We cannot - and we shall never - go back to the dark ages of people carrying briefcases to fund projects of politicians' own choice. What we require is a Political Parties Bill! We must divorce Kenya Revenue Authority from running political parties. We cannot allow that. It is immoral and primitive. This provision is truly supporting that. We must stop that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to talk about the Electronic Tax Registers (ETRs). It is a beautiful agenda. We have been told that, by the end of the year, if you will not have complied, you will never recoup back that item from your Value Added Tax input. There is a fundamental question of the process used to procure ETRs. They were factored in ten times more than their prices in Dubai. The cost of the item is supposed to be taken from the taxpayers' money, so that the Government pays 100 per cent for the same. It should be an item bought by the Government. But does this Government have the capacity to oversee the maintenance of those ETRs?"
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