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"id": 85729,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Lessonet",
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"legal_name": "Moses Lessonet",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just mentioned that to date, if I can give you an example of the year 2007/2008, the allocation which was approved by this House was Kshs10.1 billion. The Treasury managed to remit only Kshs9 billion, leaving a shortfall of Kshs1.1 billion. For the year 2008/2009, the allocation, again, which was approved in the Budget by this House was Kshs10.1 billion. The Treasury succeeded to remit only Kshs9.6 billion, leaving a shortfall of Kshs500 million. For the year 2009/2010, which is the year which has just passed â we want to thank them because they remitted in full â the arrears is the reason why 96 constituencies are yet to receive their rightful allocation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constituencies Development Fund Act requires Treasury to give 2.5 percent of ordinary revenue and not less than 2.5 percent of ordinary revenue. Since the inception of CDF, this Government has continued to violate that law. Let me just give you an example. This year, 2010/2011, the ordinary revenue as per the estimates was Kshs609 billion. Out of that amount, we expected this Government to give to CDF Kshs15.2 billion but in the estimates, they brought Kshs14.28 billion, which is almost less by Kshs1 billion. For the financial year 2009/2010, ordinary revenue was Kshs523 billion, 2.5 percent of that comes to Kshs13 billion. That is what we expected in the estimates but they gave us Kshs12.3 billion, a shortfall of Kshs700 million. In 2008/2009 estimates, ordinary revenue was Kshs463 billion, 2.5 percent of that amount is Kshs11.6 billion but they gave us Kshs10.1 billion, a shortfall of Kshs1.5 billion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you realize that when you do an accumulation of the shortfall in terms of adhering to the law, we have a cumulative shortfall of Kshs6.8 billion. We appreciate that the Assistant Minister is also a Member of Parliament, and he represents Bondo Constituency. Also, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance represents a constituency in Gatundu. I know they might be able, in their capacity, to negotiate for other monies for their constituencies but they should bear with us, ordinary Members. We rely on this Fund to construct schools, roads and implement water projects in our constituencies. We want to beg the Assistant Minister to comply with the law. The 2.5 percent is nothing when compared to the 97.5 percent which they still have to decide what they want to do with. They can use their discretion on the 97.5 percent but these 2.5 percent of ordinary revenue; and we are only talking about ordinary revenue because they still have other monies; for instance, dividends and grants and we are not interested in getting any portion from these monies. We are only interested in getting 2.5 percent of what Kenyans pay as taxes. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have sent several delegations to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, but they have all been in vain. We have summoned him to Committees and he does not attend. We even made an effort to visit him in his office to request him to comply with the law; to request him that even when we pass estimates, please give us our portion. Even the ones he has brought to the House for approval, why have they failed even to remit that one? I want to urge the hon. Members who are here today that we should pass this Motion so that this Minister with immediate effect, which means by the end of today, he should have given us the Kshs6.8 billion which he has not remitted and equally, the shortfall of Kshs1.8 billion in remittance. With those few remarks, I second."
}