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{
    "id": 601864,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/601864/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 112,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1889,
        "legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
        "slug": "chrisantus-wamalwa-wakhungu"
    },
    "content": "This Bill empowers the Commissioner-General of the KRA. In the last financial year, the KRA did not achieve its targets and this affected Kenyans, who now borrow from the domestic market. We know domestic borrowing makes the cost of doing business high. Many commercial banks prefer when the Government turns into domestic borrowing. We saw the Treasury Bills go as high as 23 per cent and commercial banks interest rates went as high as 30 per cent because of the risk percentage. If these procedures are simplified the KRA will collect funds which will help the Government to meet its Recurrent Expenditure. Our salaries come from the taxpayers. Even funding of development projects, we know very well, come from our taxes. If the procedures are complicated, the KRA will not achieve this target. There was an indication of doing a lifestyle audit because a lot of funds are not being remitted. They are going into people’s pockets. In the long run, we are going to have a shortage of funds. During the former President Kibaki’s time I liked the saying: Kulipa ushuru ni kujitegemea. If we do not collect these funds, we will not achieve development. The net effect when we have a gap is that the Government has to borrow. It is important that through sensitisation and simplifying the process, we can achieve these targets. Once we have them, we are not going to borrow from outside because we know very well that donor funding comes with a lot of conditionalities."
}