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{
    "id": 418806,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/418806/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 412,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ababu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 108,
        "legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
        "slug": "ababu-namwamba"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I hope that when the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee replies to the Motion, he will clarify what figure the Government is using in terms of public wage bill. Is it Kshs285 billion, Kshs324 billion or Kshs500 billion? What exactly is the figure of the public wage bill? Even as we talk about the public wage Bill, we really need to focus on areas of public expenditure and the fiscal conduct of the Government where we can save money. I have a feeling that this whole debate about the public wage bill is more of a red herring than anything really. It could be a red herring to support those who want to amend the Constitution to dismantle certain institutions in the Constitution and reduce the number of, maybe, nominated members and, hence, scuttle devolution. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I really want a very solid proof that indeed, the public wage bill is a crisis because I do believe it is not a crisis. What is a crisis in this country right now is corruption. Let us confront corruption and deal with it decisively. If we are in a scenario where projects are caught up in corruption even before they take off – like the standard gauge railway and the laptop project for schools--- They get marred up in the talk about corruption even before they take off. We are talking about a serious matter. Let us confront corruption and close all the taps of corruption. Secondly and finally, is just about pilferage and wastage within the Government. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report that this House adopted a couple of days ago indicated that during the financial year we were talking about, the Government lost about Kshs5 billion in un-accounted and un-supported expenditures."
}