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{
    "id": 545644,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/545644/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 118,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Musyimi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 95,
        "legal_name": "Mutava Musyimi",
        "slug": "mutava-musyimi"
    },
    "content": "I thank you, hon. Speaker. Can I also request that the Retirement Benefits Bill be put on the Order Paper in the afternoon for the simple reason that we shall be busy dealing with the Division of Revenue Bill matters in the morning? If you can indulge us as the Budget and Appropriations Committee so that we can prosecute both issues in the afternoon, we would be greatly obliged. That said, the Supplementary Estimates for 2014/2015 show that the total additional resources being requested amount to Kshs57 billion. This comprises Kshs41,516 million for Recurrent Expenditure and Kshs15,554 million for Development Expenditure. The Supplementary Estimates do not propose any new sources of revenue to fund the additional expenditures. They do not also indicate any new commitments from development partners. Therefore, even as we consider these estimates, we are likely to increase the nation’s indebtedness. I want to raise a number of concerns from my Committee. As much as the Supplementary Budget is provided for in the Constitution, it should be applied sparingly, with a rider that only expenditures of an emergency nature or insufficient allocations in the Appropriations Act will be catered for under the supplementary appropriations. There are explicit instances which do not warrant any additional spending. The National Treasury has been consistently introducing more than one supplementary budget mid- year. This practice is prone to abuse and poor planning as the MDAs may from time to time fail to capture the totality of resource requirements in anticipation of due consideration in subsequent supplementary budgets. The Committee notes with concern that personnel-related costs are a recurring feature in the first supplementary estimates across many of the MDAs. Indeed, a total of Kshs4 billion in the supplementary estimates has been requested for to fund salaries. Given the ongoing debate on the growing public sector wage bill, any salary increments are likely to spill over to all sectors agitating for salary increments and further exacerbate labour unrest and disputes. Additionally, it sets an environment that is not exactly conducive to investment. This may cause capital flight as investors could consider relocating to more investment-friendly destinations with low labour costs. This in the long run will hurt our economy and make us not exactly competitive. This is a deep concern for my Committee. My Committee perceives unsatisfactory expenditures relating to recurrent pending bills and tax obligations. The supplementary estimates contain substantial resources to offset pending bills and tax arrears obligations to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and other contracting agencies. From analysis, a total of Kshs7.477 million is being set aside to settle outstanding bills relating to pending bills and tax arrears obligations. This 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."
}