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{
    "id": 51094,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/51094/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 392,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Sambu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 137,
        "legal_name": "Alfred B. Wekesa Sambu",
        "slug": "alfred-sambu"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is clear that the criteria given do not mirror what is envisaged in the Fiscal Management Act. The Committee recommends that there is need to work on certain areas that can be subjected to the unit cost. Further austerity measures need to be identified to curb expenditure on foreign travel, domestic travel, hospitality and rehabilitation. On the question of the in-year re-allocations, the Committee observed that the Budget Policy Statement does not give any administrative guidelines on in-year variations in the Budget. The Committee notes that there are no legal guidelines for reallocations, and this has provided room for unnecessary variations within various vote heads. With this trend being a common occurrence over the years, the Committee, therefore, recommends that reallocation should be pegged to no more than eight per cent of the total Vote Heads in any Ministry. This will ensure that in-year pressures from Ministries on the Ministry of Finance are contained. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on other concerns, the first concern is unemployment. Unemployment has remained a major problem in Kenya. Indeed, it is a time bomb. Vision 2030 targets the creation of about 800,000 employment opportunities annually, but we rarely meet this target. The Budget Policy Statement (BPS) has not provided specific and sustainable policies to facilitate this. On population growth, Kenya’s population growth rate currently stands at about three per cent. A country with such a growth rate is highly likely to overstretch public resources on public infrastructure like education and health. The BPS, therefore, needed to address the issue of population growth as a matter of priority. On drought and famine, a review of the BPS finds no substantive ideas on how food security, a key millennium development goal is to be enhanced. The issue of adequate water and its impact on sustainable agro-business as a strategy to reduce poverty and increase food sufficiency is inadequately addressed in the BPS. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the budget should make adequate provisions for building required strategic food reserves, which should take into consideration food diversity in the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) the Committee observed that the BPS indicates winding up of ESP. However, the Committee recommends a systematic evaluation of the projects under this programme, with an objective of ascertaining their suitability and impact. Further, this will form a"
}