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{
    "id": 444542,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/444542/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 246,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ng’ongo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I also rise to support the Motion that is asking this House to approve the Appropriation Bill of 2014. I want to start from the fact that this House debated and approved the Budget Estimates for 2014. We did it in line with the Constitution and having passed the Budget Estimates, what has been done is just to consolidate them and put them in the Appropriation Bill and that is what the law requires. I wanted to read the Constitution, so that the National Treasury, must also be alive to one fact that the budget process is spelt out in the Constitution and it should be respected as it is. We have been cooperating very well as a committee, through the Chairman, and with the National Treasury and we hope to still continue cooperating. Even as we do that, we must respect the Constitution. First, the law requires that two months to the end of the Financial Year, the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance, must bring to this House, Budget Estimates for National Government. Besides that there are Budget Estimates for Parliamentary Service Commission and also the Judiciary, those two other Arms of Government, bring their budget to Parliament independently. What is required from the Cabinet Secretary is to give us his opinion within the month of May, which he did. After that a Committee of this House, which is the Budget and Appropriations Committee, must seek, the opinions of Kenyans and go out there. That is a Constitutional requirement and not something that we do because we like, but because it is a constitution requirement. Once, that is done then this House discusses and reviews the report of the Committee with a view of approving or rejecting, which this House did. So then what happens after that takes us to Article 221(6) of the Constitution that when the estimates of national government expenditure and estimates of expenditure for the Judiciary and Parliament have been approved by the National Assembly, they shall be included in an Appropriation Bill, which shall be introduced into the National Assembly to authorize the withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund of the money need for the expenditure."
}