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{
    "id": 729914,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/729914/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 183,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Musimba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1804,
        "legal_name": "Patrick Mweu Musimba",
        "slug": "patrick-mweu-musimba"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity to contribute to the Budget. From the outset, I congratulate the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), ably led by Mrs. Makau. They have done a tremendous job in keeping and interpreting the law as it ought to be. The bigger challenge we have experienced since the passage of the Constitution and, indeed, coming into this House in 2013, is to know where the lines are drawn between the National Treasury and Parliament in terms of who is in charge of the budget-making. There is absolutely no doubt that the force of this House has been felt in terms of putting its foot down, reallocations and more importantly, looking at how projects add value to our bottom line. A lot of mischief which was there in prior years has been stemmed. A lot of commitments were engaged at the time when the reality hit us that we were discussing budgets in which commitments had already been done and the House had little choice, but to factor in projects that did not go through the House. These are strides that the PBO and the Budget and Appropriations Committee are making in terms of curbing and reducing this gap. The next thing which I have to say, which has to be noted with great concern, is that we have to move away from a poverty mentality. About 53 years after Independence, we are just singing the song of debt, debt and more debt. We need to move forward and start thinking of how we can engage in having a surplus nation. How do we accord ourselves and give unto others what is there? I know the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee will share with me this, but a country which is 80 to 90 per cent a Christian nation, we ought to start thinking about how to tithe with what we receive. Right now, we are collecting revenue in the region of Kshs1.3 trillion a year. How do we challenge this House and ourselves into committing over Kshs120 billion just in terms of giving? I have no doubts, whatsoever, that the hand that giveth is the one that receiveth. This will make major strides into changing the national psyche in how we do things. It will be emulated. Great nations like the United States of America, Germany, and Britain all have programmes in the name of the Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). They are not saying they are nations of plenty, but they acknowledge the principle of giving. That is why every village in the known world has been a beneficiary of USAID, DFID and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ); the German programme. It is time Kenya stepped up to the plate and established our own Kenya Aid. When we get some of these fundamental rights, our nation will prosper. I have absolutely no doubt in that. I believe, like my constituents, that there is no one who is too poor that they cannot give, nor too rich that they cannot receive. This should be the riding call for this nation. 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."
}