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{
    "id": 542386,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/542386/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 117,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. A.B. Duale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "Revenue Allocation (CRA), the Council of Governors (CoG) and the National Treasury, under an umbrella body called “Inter-governmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC)” which is chaired by none other than the Deputy President. That is what brought about the current Division of Revenue Bill that was before the House. The Division of Revenue Bill and the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) are documents that are prepared based on a balanced fiscal framework. It is not something you write like an insha, or a composition, while seated in your room. The books must balance. When it came to this House, the Chairman and his team of the Budget and Appropriations Committee did wider consultations with the National Treasury and the Executive. Even the CoG came up and said: “For the first time we have a consensus on the Division of Revenue Bill this year.” But, when it went to the Senate--- I want to say that we have nothing against the Senate. Nobody is a custodian of devolution. Nobody can say “Devolution is my baby.” Devolution is here to stay; it is not a choice; it is in the Constitution and each and every Kenyan voted for it in the year 2010. Nobody can chest thump about it, whether they be a Senator, Member of Parliament, member of CoG or even the National Treasury. The money divided among the national Government and the county governments, the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is intended for service delivery to the people of Kenya. There is nowhere it is said that the national Government, PSC or the Judiciary, which is the custodian of the rule of law and justice, should not be funded. So, a figure was agreed on. When the Senate Committee on Finance, Commerce and Economic Affairs increased this figure by about Kshs7 billion the question was: “Where are we getting that Kshs7 billion from? What does it mean when you talk of in excess of Kshs7 billion?” It means raising taxes. It means increasing either domestic or external borrowing. It means a reduction in the budget of another entity in the national Government, PSC or the JSC. What does this extra Kshs7 billion do to the Division of Revenue Bill? One, it completely alters the balanced fiscal framework that was decided on by all the stakeholders. Two, it creates a serious adjustment in the national Government Budget Estimates, which are also geared towards making sure Kenyans get value and services from that money. It also limits the scope for additional borrowing because you are telling the Treasury to go and borrow. More fundamentally, if you look at the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, Section 110, county governments have already been given ceilings to spend not more than 2 per cent of their allocations on emergencies. Is this emergency fund of Kshs4 billion you are giving to county governments? The law already says that county governments will spend 2 per cent of the amount allocated to them on emergencies. This is completely not in line with Article 203 of the Constitution. If you look at Articles 96, 109 and 113 of the Constitution, these extra resources given to the counties by the Senate are not feasible, tenable and in line with the current fiscal position. It is going to bring a complication to our macro-economic stability and the growth we anticipate as a country. I urge this House to set the trend that we have given the county governments over 32 per cent of the resources. There are 13 Governors who are in the list of corruption. Why can the Senate not deal with the corruption of those 13 Governors? Why can the Senate not deal with them and the wastage in the county governments? They have an 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."
}