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{
    "id": 430157,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/430157/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 403,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. G.W. Omondi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1169,
        "legal_name": "George Washinton Mallan Omondi",
        "slug": "george-washinton-mallan-omondi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I also want to add my voice to the debate on the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) as presented in this House and also as amended. At the same time, I want to agree with what came from my Chairman. In the speech, he spelt out both positive and negative aspects of the proposal. The subsequent speaker also pointed out some of the shortcomings of the BPS. Obviously, this amounts to the fact that, we, in the Committee, looked at this BPS and we could not include everything in what our Chairman read. My contribution will touch on two key areas, in which I found the BPS inadequate. The BPS stipulates strategies, policies and measures which spur growth and development. It encompasses the assessment of the economy as a whole. All these put together should translate to job creation. All we know is that unemployment in this country is a major problem. The BPS is very silent on how these policy statement and strategies will generate jobs in our country. We know that youth unemployment is close to 70 per cent. I found it a bit interesting that this is not touched in the Budget Policy Statement. The BPS gives no figure on unemployment nor does it give how jobs will be created if these policies are implemented. We need to be told because any economy is classified as doing good or bad depending on the jobs that its policies create. The other thing that I found lacking in this Budget Policy Statement is the treatment of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We are told that credit has grown. The private sector attracted credit from the banks to the tune of 20 per cent, but it is very silent on what amount of this credit has gone to SMEs. We know that the SMEs are the engine of this economy because if you look at the 2012 statistics, it is estimated The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}