HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 908813,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/908813/?format=api",
"text_counter": 307,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kikuyu, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
"speaker": {
"id": 1835,
"legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
"slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
},
"content": "hospitals. As the Budget and Appropriations Committee, we would not have allowed money that has already been appropriated in the Division of Revenue Bill to then be reallocated to other uses, including some hospitals that would otherwise benefit from other resources. It is important because we looked at the reallocations that had been proposed. Some were to KNH, Mathare Referral Hospital and others to particular dispensaries here and there and small hospitals across the country. It is important to mention that for those hospitals, the Ministry and the National Treasury have asserted that they, indeed, have plans to allocate resources from the universal health coverage under the Sports Fund. You are aware that following the regulations that were passed by this House that there is money under the Sports Fund that would be appropriated into those particular hospitals. Therefore, they will not suffer as has been said. Another issue that was raised is on a summative report being tabled or being given to the departmental committees. They sought to reallocate money again; the Kshs4.6 billion, that had been earmarked for the rollout of UHC in the other 43 counties. They pegged their reallocation on the lack of a summative report on how this has been rolled out in the four counties. The position of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, the National Treasury and the line Ministry was that if we are to allow the reallocation of the Kshs4.6 billion at this particular stage, it means if the Report comes in July, the end of July or even in December or in between the financial year, then we would have to identify resources to roll out the UHC across the 43 counties. The Departmental Committee on Health did not identify where we would be able to get those resources. Therefore, I am leaving it to the Departmental Committee on Health to identify where to find those resources. With the limited resources we have, the best we could do was to disallow the reallocation of the UHC money at this stage. However, if you read the Report, you will find that we have given this money to the Ministry with a condition that they must give a summative report to the Departmental Committee on Health. Therefore, the Departmental Committee on Health still has an opportunity, probably during Supplementary One. If the Ministry is not able to give them a summative report that satisfies them, then at that stage, we can consider whether we can reallocate. However, if we are to reallocate now and not identify where else we will get money from if the summative report is brought in December, January or even in October or November, then we will be left in a quagmire since we will not have resources to roll out UHC. We are all aware that UHC is one of the key pillars of the Big Four Agenda that the Jubilee Government and President Uhuru Kenyatta are implementing. I plead, especially with the Members of the Departmental Committee on Health, to understand that in view of the limited resources, we were not able to allow those two reallocations at this time. A number of Members have spoken to the issue of budget implementation. I agree with Members that we pass budgets in this House. I remember Hon. Otiende Amolo, who mentioned the example of the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), where a number of Members are still at about 50 per cent of disbursements. As much as we understand that there are challenges with Exchequer releases, I call upon the Committee on Implementation – and I can see Hon. Abuor, who is a very active Member of this Committee – to ensure that they follow up on budget implementation. It is also a challenge to our departmental committees. The moment we pass this Budget, the role to oversee budget implementation also lies with them. They meet on a quarterly basis, if not every two months, to call the accounting officers and the cabinet secretaries and get reports on how the budget is being implemented. It is those reports that will also allow them an 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."
}