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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the budget making process, of which Parliament is part and parcel of, in the mid-term expenditure review framework and this is clearly stratified in the Constitution, he, first of all, was expected to table the Budget Policy Statement. As a result of the Budget Policy Statement, again, he was expected to table the Estimates. As a result of the estimates, the Kenyan public, through their legitimate representatives, were expected to participate in critiquing the Estimates and to consider whether, indeed, what was contained in the Estimates was in line with their wishes. It is because of this that, through the Budget Committee and other Departmental Committees, Parliament was, for the first time, expected to participate in shaping the Budget. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Committees did their submissions after we sought the public views. I want to go on record that the people of Wajir, as I stand here today, are expecting to see how we are going to vote because through the public hearings, they presented some of their concerns. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my dilemma is; in this figure, the Government is not even asking for 10 per cent, 25 per cent or 50 per cent on the Vote on Account. In my opinion, this is farfetched and it will not assist us. You will remember that this year, the Minister failed to table the Budget Policy Statement simply because Parliament was sent on recess. Again, we, as Parliament, are wrong. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is going to be the second time the Government is trying to create a crisis that is not there; we are not talking about a shut down. We are not that irresponsible and we are not talking about creating a gridlock; we are talking about adhering to the rules, the Constitution, the provisions of Article 221 and to the provisions of Standing Order 143. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for us to achieve this, that book that we have there is not the Estimates; initially, that book was actually reading “A temporary Estimates for the Financial Year 2012/2013.” What we expected was a reprinted Estimate to take into account the resolutions of the House. One of the things that is making me concerned is that if we reflect on the Budget Statement by the Minister, I believe this is the bit that the hon. Members are raising and it is the one that is causing suspicions – the Minister in his Budget Statement did not make an attempt to reflect on the recommendations of the Budget Committee as adapted by this House. Therefore, from the outset, it seems that what we did was just gerrymandering."
}