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{
    "id": 714961,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/714961/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ng’ongo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to make my contribution to the BPS. I want to start by thanking the Budget and Appropriations Committee. We had a meeting of almost three days at the Boma Hotel in Nairobi just to consider this very important document in line with our Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act. It should be understood by this House that the BPS for this year came a little earlier because of the possible election next year. Otherwise, we would be debating this document around February next year as per the requirement of the law. I want to start by talking about some weak points in the BPS for the 2017/2018 Financial Year. First, over the years, especially the past three or four years, we have made projections on the economic growth and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. For over three years now, we have not been realising the projected economic growth. With the looming possible election next year like in all election years in this country, we have had slowed economic growth. Still, we have a Treasury that is too optimistic and projecting very high economic growth of well over 6 per cent. The question that one needs to answer is how realistic this economic growth projection is. In the event that we do not realise what is projected, the effects on the economy will include high borrowing because the deficit must be financed. At the same time, even if we are reporting economic growth of about 6 per cent like we did for this year, we need to ask ourselves who is benefitting from this economic growth. The Kenyan population does not see this economic growth in their pockets, homes or on their tables. We need to ask ourselves whether we are profiting other countries like China which are putting some resources in this country and bringing labour to this country, part of which we do not even need. We need to review the contracts that we signed with the so-called development partners, so that we protect Kenyans. We cannot bring cheap labour to Kenya from China. We are helping the Chinese to take care of their economy at the expense of our economy. Many Kenyans are asking where this economic growth is because we are allowing other countries to benefit at our expense. I also want to talk about the debt level in this country. There is a dispute among professionals like economists and financial analysts. According to the Treasury, we are well within the allowable debt level. Many economists including even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have sounded warnings to this country that we need to check our level of borrowing. I do not even want to dwell on that. My concern is on the application of the money that we borrow. If we go out there to borrow, whether it is through the Eurobond, directly from other countries or locally, prudent financial management requires that you invest the amount you have borrowed in productive sector of the economy. Recently, there has been debate about Eurobond and whether we got the money. I do not want to go that way because I know there will be politics around it. When we asked for the list of the projects that were financed through this borrowing, we were told that the borrowing was to go to general budgetary support. That means that you just borrow to finance any deficit that you 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."
}