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{
    "id": 449290,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/449290/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 232,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Bunyasi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2511,
        "legal_name": "John Sakwa Bunyasi",
        "slug": "john-sakwa-bunyasi"
    },
    "content": "The issue of absorption capacity has been mentioned. Part of the problem of absorption capacity is just poor management. It is a fact that the spending agencies do not plan well in advance or they are reluctant because the procurement rules constrain them in terms of what they would like to do. So, they come in at the last minute. Of course, Exchequer resources do not become available late in the year. So, before we rush to amend the law, we should look carefully at the administration of the current law and establish where exactly the hindrances are coming from. If we are going to succeed in spending Kshs1.8 trillion in an orderly and systematic way, we have to follow the procurement process. We have to allow managers to be on the toes. The spending agencies have to be able to plan ahead to meet the social objectives like the affirmative action for youth and women in procurement and so on. All this can only come with carefully crafted procurement plans. They cannot come at the last minute of the financial year that tends to happen many times. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we should consider the period for Budget implementation. I know that we have the Medium Term Expenditure Framework but probably, given the reality that Exchequer Issues do not become available until September or October; we should look again at our projections of expenditure. The expectation that Budgetary resources can be spent within the following nine months, including meeting the full procurement cycle, cannot be met if such a procurement cycle does not start until resources have been made available. There is a lot of discussion on the issue of shifting resources from Development Expenditure to Recurrent Expenditure. I want to state very categorically that this distinction, at some level, is actually slow but it is a useful distinction. I would like that money to go to Recurrent Expenditure and pay more teachers and the nurses. I would be much happier. Hold the expenditure on pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Increase the staffing side and make sure that they are working and are available. It is not in every instance that such a shift is unjustified. Most people think of development as capital. People think that every time there is a shift from Development Expenditure to Recurrent Expenditure, there is a net wastage. We should look at it a bit more carefully. There are times when you will want to buttress the Recurrent Expenditure in order to achieve the development goals that you seek. You do not achieve such goals only because you have categorised expenditure as development. We should think about that aspect very carefully. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, while on the issue of expenditure, I must go back to the issue of the standard gauge railway project. It is a worthwhile project. It is a very important project but there are other aspects of the railway line that we must look at. First, it was mentioned during the presentation of the Committee that if the standard gauge railway line goes only up to Nairobi, it will be only marginally profitable. That means we have to look into why that is the case. They said that if we continue with the project up to Malaba border, it will help to pull over the marginal return curve and make it an economical project. One can understand why it has only introduced congestion in Mombasa and created Nairobi. Most of the justification for the railway line is transit trade to the 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."
}