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{
    "id": 802041,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/802041/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 98,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mulu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance to second the Motion on next year’s Budget. I must thank my Chairman for moving this Report. I also want to register my complaint because I have just been called to second without any preparation. However, let me just give it a shot. I will not dwell much on the figures because I think the Chair has done that and I am sure the chairs of the departmental committees will do the same. I want to take this time to highlight some of the key findings of the Budget and Appropriations Committee in terms of what I will call the overall budget-making process. I just want to point out a few items on this Budget, which I think are worth noting. The first item is the issue of making resources available for MDAs which have audit queries. Time has come for this House to be firm on this position. This House is lucky to have all the oversight committees. More so, I want to single out a few of them – PAC, PIC and Special Funds Accounts Committee (SFAC) – which actually take time and look at the accounts of all the MDAs. Time has come for this House to make sure that recommendations by PAC, PIC and SFAC are factored in the budget-making process. That way, we will ensure that MDAs which have audit queries will only get resources they can use without any problem. The other issue I want to mention is that of the development Budget. I support my Chairman for he has said that as a House, we need to protect the development Budget. Once this House passes the development Budget, it is important that we do not allow any reduction. Why am I saying so? The reason is all the projection in terms of economic growth and revenue generation are actually anchored on the development Budget. Once you reduce the development Budget, other variables will be affected in a negative way. Therefore, it is important that, as a House, we protect the development Budget once we pass it. The other issue I want to raise or talk about is that of the timing of the public hearings. My Chairman has said that we need to think seriously about the timing of the public hearings. The reason why we are saying this is because when we interact with the public, the needs which the public present to the Committee are so much that they cannot be accommodated just after the key process of the budget-making process; that is, the Policy Statement and the Annual Estimates will have been prepared. So, what the chair is proposing, which Hon. Members need to note, is that we need to bring public hearings to either November or October so that once we 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."
}