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{
    "id": 778112,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/778112/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 191,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ichung’wah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1835,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
        "slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
    },
    "content": "prioritise and re-allocate adequate resources to make sure that we achieve the big four agenda, be it in manufacturing, healthcare, job creation or any other matters under the big four agenda. In addition, the Committee observed that there is no evidence of a comprehensive review of the status of programmes that were already being implemented in line with zero-based budgeting so as to identify those that should be discontinued to provide physical space for the big four agenda. This means the zero-based budgeting concept was not understood or it was not utilised in drawing up the Budget Policy Statement, particularly in resource allocation amongst votes and programmes. The importance of carrying out a review of the status of pervious key target areas is that it facilitates proper monitoring of Government expenditure by this House thereby enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public resources. As I mentioned earlier, this House is a budget-making house. We cannot be making budgets without holding to account those to whom we allocate resources. They should explain how they spend the resources that we allocated them. We are, therefore, challenging the Members of this House to ensure that in each of the Departmental Committees they sit, there is actual monitoring and evaluation of implementation of the Budget since we are the House that allocates resources to each of the Departments. Hon. Speaker, two key pillars of the big four agenda – Health and Agriculture – are devolved functions. This means the key initiatives under these sectors are likely to be implemented through the county governments. The Committee observed that the Budget Policy Statement has not clearly articulated the extent of the roles that each level of government will play – the roles that will be played by the national Government and those that will be played by the county governments. Therefore, the Committee proposes that a master plan on the big four agenda should also include a collaborative framework between the national Government and the county governments with clear indications, with the roles of each level of the government and manner in which resources will be allocated clearly stipulated. I wish to reiterate that despite these resource gaps, the Budget and Appropriations Committee remains very committed to sticking within the hard budget constraints in order to limit the fiscal deficit within reasonable levels. The resource gaps in the various sectors will therefore be addressed through rationalisation and reorientation of resources from non-core expenditures towards key development projects. The Committee observes that despite the indications for the 2018 Budget Policy Statement that expenditure will contract gradually over the medium-term, there does not seem to be a very clear strategy on how this will be done. I wish to remind this House that in Financial Year 2015/2016, the Government indicated that it would institute expenditure control measures on non-core expenditure. However, it seems that this process has not been very well executed as there are no clear quantifiable expenditure rationalisation measures which will free resources for priority expenditures. In fact, we have not even seen a quantification of possible savings from non-core areas and re-allocation of those resources. That is, again, a challenge to the Government in all ministries, led by the National Treasury to ensure that expenditure rationalisation is done to move resources from non-core areas to core areas that will drive the big four agenda. Hon. Members will recall that during the Supplementary Budget I late last year, we had an expenditure cut of up to 75 per cent from various items under the Recurrent Expenditure across all ministries, departments and agencies, including Parliament and the Judiciary. This disrupted the operations of some spending entities. This Committee reiterates that expenditure The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}