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{
    "id": 802016,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/802016/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 73,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ichung’wah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1835,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
        "slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
    },
    "content": "implementing the Third Medium-Term Plan, the Budget is geared towards achievement of the Government’s Big Four Agenda targeted at supporting manufacturing, improving food security, enhancing universal health coverage as well as improvement of living conditions through affordable housing. This is in addition to the ongoing strategic interventions under the pillars for the Economic Transformative Agenda, which the Government has been implementing over the last four financial years. The Committee is pleased to note that, in terms of preparation and submission of the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2018/2019, the national Treasury has broadly adhered to the legal provisions as outlined in the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act as well as the Public Finance Management Regulations. Indeed, unlike in previous years, the Committee received detailed information on the Budget Estimates. This is highly commendable as it shows increasing openness and transparency by the national Government. It has enabled the Committee to make informed decisions on the Budget. This Committee is committed to enhancing transparency and accountability in order to ensure all resources raised nationally are allocated and utilised to improve the welfare of the citizenry in an accountable and transparent manner. It is our belief that all Members in this House are committed to this purposeful oversight as this is what we owe Kenyans who elected us into this august House last year. The Committee has tasked the Parliamentary Budget Office to create a compendium of projects at the national level. I invite all Committees of this House to use this compendium to actualise their oversight role by conducting regular monitoring and evaluation activities so as to ensure that the Budget is implemented as approved. In terms of linking the 2018/2019 Budget to the medium-term priorities, the proposed 2018/2019 Budget is linking it to the Big Four Agenda as well as the medium-term priorities as contained in the Medium-Term Plan Three. The Committee is concerned that though there have been attempts to map the Big Four Agenda into existing programmes in the Budget, some information gaps still exist that may hinder achievement of some of the key Big Four Agenda projects. Notably, the proposal to enlist about 100,000 Community Health Volunteers under universal health coverage is not mentioned in the 2018/2019 Budget Estimates. Community Health Volunteers play an important role in the provision of health services at the community level. For the Big Four Agenda and medium-term plans to become a reality, projects and programmes that require budgetary allocation should be explicitly provided for in the Budget. I urge the Departmental Committees to thoroughly scrutinise budgets of the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) within their purview and ensure these are aligned to the medium-term priorities of the Government. In addition, in order for all key players to own the Big Four Agenda, it should have been brought to this House as a Sessional Paper as the BAC had recommended during our review of the Budget Policy Statement (BPS)."
}