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{
    "id": 592379,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/592379/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 161,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Billow",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 260,
        "legal_name": "Billow Adan Kerrow",
        "slug": "billow-kerrow"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also rise to give my support to this Motion. I was privileged to be among Members of the Committee that did this work. There is no doubt that a lot has changed since we embraced this new political dispensation about five or six years ago. A lot has changed in the way we govern ourselves, where Kenyans hold their governments to account. We have also changes in the powers of the Executive; the checks and balances, the role of many public institutions and the bicameral nature of Parliament. A lot of the changes that have been introduced have fundamentally changed the way we govern ourselves. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constitution is very clear. To interpret the Constitution, we must do it in a manner – this is according to Article 159 – that promotes its purpose, advances the rule of law and contributes to good governance and the development of law. I am not a lawyer but I can tell you for a fact that the Constitution, even with this very clear prescription has, in fact, been interpreted in various ways in the past few years. Many institutions, including Parliament, have had to go before the Supreme Court to seek clarification or advisory opinion on the meaning of certain provisions in the Constitution. It is because of that, that among other reasons, this hon. House felt it necessary to look at the Constitution and recommend amendments to the same. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will go specifically to a number of areas in this Report that I support. One of the key challenges that we have today is on finances and the budget. We all know that in the past two weeks, we have been treated to a lot of information in the media that our Government is, indeed, facing serious financial crisis. I do not think anybody doubts that when a Government or any institution for that matter fails to meet its obligations, then, that means that the institution is in the red. There are serious challenges when salaries cannot be paid on time, development budgets have not been implemented significantly in the First Quarter of this Financial Year and transfers to county governments have only been effected for one month out of the three months of the First Quarter of this Financial Year. When you look at it critically, the genesis of this financial crisis is the manner in which the budgetary system or process of this country is being handled. We said that this year in June when we were looking at the Budget. The Budget is managed by one institution. The National Assembly literally determines who gets money and who does not and what the expenditure should be. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the law that we have today has literally placed the Treasury in the hands of one House of Parliament. Because of that, we have a situation where a country whose annual revenues are estimated to be Kshs1 trillion could come up with a budget of The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}