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{
    "id": 777083,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/777083/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 44,
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    "content": "commercial banks, primarily to pay for salaries. It is the resolution of our Committee that there should be a proper short-term borrowing framework so that counties can be allowed to borrow only for salaries. We were even given an example where some counties have not paid salaries for January. This will really help so that when they get their allocation, they are able to replenish the accounts and move forward. More importantly, is the borrowing framework for long-term purposes. We were given examples of where counties have ambitious development plans but there is no proper framework. Indeed, the Public Finance Management (PFM) law provides for a stringent framework but it is not properly aligned to the whole issue of the national sovereign debt. This is something that we need to look at as a policy statement. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we also need to look at the issue of the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDMS). This is important for us to ensure that we adhere to the debt ratio between domestic debt borrowing and foreign debt borrowing. This will ensure that we do not over-borrow locally and crowd out private investors because this is a key plank of development. This is something critical that we need to look at. The other important thing is the issue of Own Source Revenue (OSR). We need to have a framework that ensures that counties are able to generate more revenue from their own sources for the sake of their development. We realised that the development budget for various counties is limited. So, it is important that counties are helped in terms of automation of their own revenue collection for purposes of their development. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is also important to ensure that there is a proper asset register for various counties, especially from the defunct local authorities so that the public assets are not pilfered or taken into private hands. This is critical because it appears even at this point in time that this is not yet clear. It is important to ensure that this is done so that we are able to know which counties own what and for what reason. Sometimes, counties are incurring a lot of costs, for example, in acquisition of land for public utilities. Going forward, this is critical in our many counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, that is the summary of the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) Report. We hope and believe that this time round, the recommendations that we have already made as a Senate, will be taken seriously by the National Treasury and the National Assembly so that we can ensure that the input of Senators is not in vain. Finally, it is also good to note that allocations to the Senate must be maintained and increased. They should not be targeted for any other purpose because the Senate must also function in order to strengthen devolution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many and few remarks, I second."
}