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"speaker_name": "Mr. Mbau",
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"content": "indeed represents a contingency, and I am not sure that this House is able to understand how such a contingency is administered because there is no explanation. Just as I mentioned last year, issues of the Civil Contingencies Fund require due attention at this point in time. The Civil Contingency Act provides for only Kshs2 billion. However, the Minister keeps on creating other Budget lines with different names, but which are, in fact, still part of the Civil Contingencies Fund. A typical case in point is the item on Budget reserve. As I mentioned last year, the Minister for Finance should actually undertake to review the Civil Contingency Fund Act and bring it to this House, so that the amount of this Fund can be raised to the level he deems appropriate instead of keeping on constantly opening new Budget lines and windows that may be subject to abuse by officers and other persons; this often tends to happen. Mr. Deputy Speaker, to further enhance transparency of the Budget process, the Minister for Finance should table on a quarterly basis, regularly and without fail, details of activities or projects and programmes that have been issued with funds from the Civil Contingencies Fund, which still remain unknown to this House and, by and large, to the public. The Appropriations Bill is as per the Printed Estimates. It is as represented in the Budget Estimates. Hon. Members are also aware that since the presentation of the Budget, the Minister has granted the Police Department a salary increment as well as a transport allowance to the civil servants. We want to know, on behalf of Kenyans, where this was provided for in the Estimates and which Item, or Vote, the same will be taken from. Does the Minister purport to make this part of the Supplementary Estimates? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will note that when it comes to the Supplementary Estimates, you have found some allocations transferred from one Ministry, department or agency to another. Sometimes you have found some Votes reduced, so that we cater for things which become a priority midstream. We would like the Minister to be very kind to Kenya and ensure that when planned issues of resources for both recurrent and development expenditure are already tabled, there are no midstream adjustments. If there must be, may they be within the range of between five and eight percent, which, in any case, is the internationally acceptable and agreed range. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, hon. Members are also aware that the Minister is expected to comply with the provisions of the Fiscal Management Act, and in particular Section 9(2), which provides that the annual estimates laid before the National Assembly under the Provisions of sub-section (2) shall be accompanied by a Treasury memorandum specifying measures taken by the Government and its various departments to implement the audit recommendations by the National Assembly in the previous years as recommended by the Controller and Auditor-General. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Budget Committee has not as of now, been able to see this document. Even when the Minister did actually present his Budget Estimates you did direct that by the end of the discussion of budgetary matters, the Minister should have supplied to the House the Treasury memorandum, so that we can know that we are not just talking and no action is taken anywhere. We would like to know where that memorandum report from the Treasury is, or to what extent action has been taken. Let me also turn to what we call capacity of Government Ministries and departments to utilize that which is allocated to them. We call it absorption capacity."
}