Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 292905,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/292905/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 16,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Members, following on the observations I have already made about the need to give meaning to the letter and spirit of the Constitution, it is clear that the estimates required to be tabled to the House under Article 221 should provide such adequate detail as to inform the House and the public of the financial plans of the national Government and enable them to interact with, interrogate and make informed proposals for change. These requirements can hardly be said to be met when global figures are presented without the benefit of detailed breakdown and itemization. This is what I have previously called, and I quote “minimalist approach to constitutional interpretation that should be discouraged.” It should be noted, however, as hon. Boni Khalwale observed, that Article 222(2)(b) of the Constitution provides that the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure to be tabled in the House, shall be in the form and according to the procedure prescribed by an Act of Parliament. Hon. Khalwale aptly noted that no obligation has been enacted by the House, setting out the form in which the Estimates must be presented and the procedure for doing so and invited the House to avail itself of this opportunity to enact legislation, clearly setting out the form and level of detail in which the Annual Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure shall be presented. The conclusion must be drawn that until such time, while the Minister needs to be guided by good precedence from the past and by the requirements of Article 259 of the Constitution, it cannot be said that the Annual Estimates presented shall be disallowed for the reason only that the figures presented are not adequately itemized. Hon. Members, the point that was made by hon. Mbadi and emphasized by hon. Imanyara, whose effect is that the mandatory constitutional provisions cannot be subordinated to or postponed on account of our countries’ international or regional obligations, is an important one. As I observed in the directions that I gave on 7th June, 2011, the need to harmonize our Budget circle with those of our partners in the East African Community (EAC) is desirable and even prudent, but it cannot stand in the way of existing constitutional dictates. I said then and emphasize now that in my estimation, Article 2(6) of the Constitution does not subordinate the provisions in the Constitution of Kenya and our laws to our Treaty obligations. What that Article requires is that our Treaty obligations form part of our law under our Constitution. The effect of this is to make it the obligation of the State to ensure that we not only meet our Treaty obligations, including those under the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC, but that also we do so without violation of our own Constitution. What this means in the present context is that the Treasury must make any requisite consultations with our partner States without prejudice to its obligation to submit Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, under Article 221 of the Constitution. Such consultations will not be permitted to be the reason for delay in presentation or for presentation of the Estimates in an unacceptable manner. Hon. Members will note that there has been significant improvement in the budgeting process this year, in departure from the same time last year, when the Treasury failed altogether to submit the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure to the House, at least, two months before the end of the Financial Year. This time around, subject to the observations and directions as I have given herein, the Estimates can be said to have been submitted in time. However, as has become apparent from my analysis of the issues that had been raised, there is still plenty of room for improvement in relation to the form in which the Estimates should be presented, in order to give full expression to the letter and"
}