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{
    "id": 778213,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/778213/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 292,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ng’ongo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "Look at the increase in debts. For this year, we are increasing the borrowing by Kshs181 billion, but money being put on development is decreasing by Kshs27 billion. If someone told you that actually we are borrowing to meet Recurrent Expenditure, that person is not very far from the truth, because if in your documents you are telling the country that we are increasing debt by Kshs188 billion of external debt and Kshs93 billion of domestic debt, but Development Expenditure is increasing only by Kshs27 billion, where are you taking the rest of the borrowing? The answer is simple: You are borrowing to meet your Recurrent Expenditure. Allow me to say this as I wind up because I do not have time to touch on other issues. Issues of economics are not issues to be arrogant about. They are not issues to chest thump and tell us that you are going to borrow whether we like it or not. It is the issue of telling us the value of that borrowing. The International Monetary Fund cannot be wrong. The Kenyan economy has been downgraded in terms of credit rating by a global body. It is not even the Opposition. It is not about political rallies you are talking about. We did not organise a political rally to ask Moody’s to downgrade us. All experts, apart from the Jubilee mandarins, are in agreement that this economy is going south in terms of debt accumulation. I want to conclude by saying that Jubilee needs to be very careful about our future. It is not a question of being sycophantic. It is not a question of coming here and saying that, because you are Jubilee, you have to defend even the indefensible. The borrowing that this country is getting engaged in must come to a stop. We must regulate it. Nothing is wrong with borrowing, but when you are borrowing in a way that is not adding value to the economy, if you are borrowing to pay Recurrent Expenditure, if you are borrowing for people to steal, if you are borrowing to sweep streets, that is not a borrowing that is properly thought about. I know even some Members of Jubilee like Hon. Ichung’wah are just trying to play politics, but they know it is dangerous. On the roads sector, for example, the Jubilee Government started so many roads, a populist thing, but there is no money in the Budget. Now you make the committee in charge of roads to come begging to us, that, please, give us money."
}