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{
    "id": 622896,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/622896/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 317,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "last financial year or the current financial year, the Government borrowed over Kshs560 billion. That borrowing, both domestically and internationally, is clearly increasing the public debt. In terms of sustainability, we have figures from the National Treasury that are doubtful because you cannot compare this country to Japan and the United States of America (USA), where public debt is 200 per cent of their GDP. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we need to have a situation where the Controller of Budget, even when we have the Loans and Grants Council as enshrined in the Constitution can advise Parliament accordingly in relation to the money we are borrowing as a sovereign state at the national and county levels. Currently, collectively counties have borrowed over Kshs40 billion without the approval of the Controller of Budget. The lacuna in law needs to be fixed as a matter of fact so that we avoid a situation where even when the national Government is a guarantor to the county governments, you do not overburden people who are in the counties because they are the same people who are nationals of this country. I would not do justice to speak on this matter if I do not address the elephant in the room; the National Youth Service issue. Kenyans have been treated to a charade where you may want to imagine that Government agencies, ministries and departments are run by cartels of individuals who circumvent laws so as to ensure that they pocket money. While this issue has very heavy political overtones, I would like to remind this House that when names of some of these office occupants were brought to this House, some of us questioned their capacity to deliver and in this case, Ms. Anne Waiguru. I personally questioned that. On the management of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), there is obviously need to ensure that the system is looked at. For the last three years, the Budget and Appropriations Committee has been giving this office Kshs1billion for maintenance and yet this is a system where super users can get into the system, conduct a transaction and delete without trace. We should ensure that we have a credible system. You remember that governors refused to subject themselves to the IFMIS system. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we must also address the issue of the Controller of Budget in the sense of having a maximum retail pricing mechanism. Currently in Government, we have individuals who have interesting ways of budgeting for public money. People write wish lists asking for more money and that is why corruption is going unabated within our public institutions. This Bill must address such reality so that there is some form of approval mechanism of procurement plans, but most importantly the issue of pricing. If we continue like this, we must ensure that there is a clear nexus between tenderpreneurship, corruption and unsustainability or non-control of our Budget. We must clearly address this. We must also ensure that there is a mechanism that guarantees multiplicity of availability of opportunities to do business with the Government. These are very salient issues. When we will be passing this Bill in the Committee of the whole House, we should look at amendments that are going to help this country to live within its means. Currently, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about Kshs6 trillion, an annual Budget of about Kshs2 trillion and with the Office of the Controller of Budget, whose holder does the work of a mortician, I think we are not doing justice to Kenyans. Future generations will ask us questions as the 11th Parliament as to what we did to ensure we never overburdened them and envisaged the independence of institution as enshrined in the Constitution. 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."
}