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{
    "id": 553644,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/553644/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 198,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Committees need to support the Budget and Appropriations Committee, so that we can all be reading from the same page as far as the budget-making process is concerned. The Budget has things which are good. I want to focus on areas which add value to this country in terms of helping Kenyans. The first item is on the Equalisation Fund. In next year’s Budget, we have made a provision for Kshs6 billion. In the current financial year, we also made a provision for the Equalisation Fund. The challenge we have is how to operationalise the Fund. We need an operationalisation framework. It is important that the framework is put in place immediately so that we do not continue having budgetary provisions that we are unable to meet because such situation will not help this country. The reason as to why we have the Equalisation Fund is because some areas of this country have been marginalized for a long time. We need them to be helped so that they can catch up with the rest of the country. The other important issue is that of Appropriations-in-Aid. Through our discussions with Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies and members of the Executive, it has come out clearly that the Appropriations-in-Aid is an item which is being misused in this country. We have realised that some MDAs collect a lot of money through this item but they do not declare it. So, it is a parallel system, in terms of money which is not declared to the Government. In that case, you cannot follow up to establish how such monies are being used or accounted for. The National Treasury needs to come out very strongly to ensure that A-In-A monies are properly accounted for. There is even a proposal for A-In-A monies to be collected by the KRA, just the way we do with other taxes, so that the money can be sent back to the MDAs for their use. This is a very important matter. The third point is prioritisation of the Budget. If you look at the whole course of prioritisation of the Budget, you will appreciate that there are issues. There is an area we need to improve as a country. We come from different parts of this country. We agree that some teachers retired many years ago. They have been awarded some money for pension, but up to now they have not been paid. We all know that there is a serious shortage of teachers, at both primary and secondary school levels. If the Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology could not prioritise these matters in terms of their reallocation, then where are we leaving Kenyans, as their representatives? It is important that the Departmental Committees help the Budget and Appropriations Committee in getting the budgetary priorities right. If I were the one chairing the Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology, I would have made sure that we set aside some money for payment of pension to the teachers who retired and those who were awarded some claims by the court. I would have also made sure we have set aside more money for hiring of teachers. It is a known fact that the shortest way out of poverty in any country is through quality education. If you do not educate your populace, you have a problem. It is high time that the Budget started coming out strongly to support some of these areas. As the Budget and Appropriations Committee, we had the chance to interact with some slum dwellers in Nairobi. The Committee organised three public hearings in slum areas. After listening to the slum dwellers, some things came out very clearly. I was really surprised that the most common problems in the slums are lack of roads, health centres, drainage system and exposed live electricity wires, which cause electrocution. The worst of them all is that some of the slums could only be having one primary school with a classroom having over 100 pupils. You are left wondering if these are Kenyans. The population density in slum areas is very high. Is it not time we thought of doing something to assist our brothers and sisters get out of some of these basic problems? One of the challenges which came out is that of land ownership. In slum"
}