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{
    "id": 562716,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/562716/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 369,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Linturi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 69,
        "legal_name": "Franklin Mithika Linturi",
        "slug": "franklin-linturi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I want to start by thanking my colleagues on the other side for really being diligent in trying to interrogate the Budget and more precisely on the figures and the use that this money is going into. That is one of the cardinal duties of this Parliament. I feel obliged to make some corrections because if this is not allowed, then the impressions that may have been created by arguments or submissions by Hon. Dalmas is that whatever this Report is seeking this House to do which is the provision of this money could be illegal and unconstitutional. I hold a complete different opinion and I would not want to submit on whether or for what reason this money is going for because I do not have the details concerning the reasons for making those payments. I want to concentrate and restrict myself to whether it is fair, within the law and constitutional for this House to approve this money at this point in time. I want to invite anybody to look at Article 223 of the Constitution of Kenya. This Article talks about Supplementary Appropriations. For the avoidance of doubt, I would seek your indulgence so that I can read it for those who may not have the Constitution and so that we can probably reason together to understand the intention of this Article or what it was meant to achieve. Hon. Deputy Speaker and Members, I beg for your audience. The Article says that: “(1) Subject to clauses (2) to (4), the national government may spend money that has not been appropriated if-” The words being used here are not mandatory. The words are “may spend any money that has not been appropriated.” However, there are conditions under which the Government may spend such money. The condition being set out under Article 223(1)(a) is: “The amount appropriated for any purpose under the Appropriation Act is insufficient or a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by that Act.” So, what it means is that the Executive has the authority to spend money that is not appropriated. That money can only be spent for a matter that has arisen and there was no money set aside for that purpose. Article 223(2) says: “The approval of Parliament for any spending under this Article shall be sought within two months after the first withdrawal of the money.” My interpretation of this provision is that the Government has authority to spend money that has not been appropriated, but immediately after the withdrawal of any money that has not been appropriated, they must seek parliamentary approval. So, in the current circumstance, and I said I do not want to address myself to what this money is meant for, I want to imagine that the reason why the Government is coming very late is that, as Hon. Dalmas has said, in the first instance it may have accumulated money to 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."
}