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{
    "id": 910322,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/910322/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 290,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Henry Rotich",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13142,
        "legal_name": "Henry Rotich",
        "slug": "henry-rotich"
    },
    "content": "process, which we expect will fully take into account the provisions of Article 203 of the Constitution. In order to encourage the counties to optimise own source revenue collection, the National Treasury, in collaboration with the Council of Governors, will implement the National Policy to Support Enhancement of County Governments’ Own-Source Revenue. Further, as per the Presidential directive issued in February 2019, the National Treasury has established a multi- agency team to develop and implement an Integrated Revenue Management System for county governments. This initiative is aimed at eliminating the leakages and large costs currently incurred by counties in their revenue collection processes. During this financial year, the County Governments’ Revenue Raising Process Bill, 2018 was submitted to the National Assembly. Pursuant to Article 209(5) of the Constitution, this Bill aims to regulate the introduction of levies by county governments while ensuring that counties do not prejudice national economic policies, cross-county economic activities, or national mobility of goods, services, capital and labour. I urge this House to prioritise the enactment of this Bill in order to ensure better regulation of the process of introducing new levies by county governments to safeguard the gains made in improving our business climate. We expect counties to manage their finances in a manner that is consistent with the fiscal responsibility principles, as set out in the PFM Act, 2012, with respect to development spending allocations, and control of expenditure on personnel emoluments. We also expect counties to adhere to the policy of clearing pending bills, pursuing austerity measures and completing ongoing projects before embarking on new ones. Hon. Speaker, let me turn to highlights of the Government spending priorities in the coming financial year. Total programmed spending for the 2019/20 amounts to Kshs2.8 trillion. His Excellency the President has outlined the Four Big Areas of focus. These are: 1. Universal health coverage. 2. Affordable housing. 3. Increasing manufacturing contribution to the GDP, and 4. Food and nutrition security. Let me outline how the Budget speaks to the President’s priorities. Ministries, Departments and Agencies while finalising the expenditure estimates for the next financial year and medium-term were required to align their proposals towards realisation of the ‘Big Four’ Plan. In total, I have allocated approximately Kshs450.9 billion to the “Big Four” Plan drivers and their enablers. A healthy population is key in the attainment of socio-economic development. It is for this reason that the Government has prioritised Universal Health Coverage (UHC). To support UHC, I have allocated Kshs47.8 billion to activities and programmes geared towards UHC. Some of the specific interventions in this area include scaling up universal health coverage to the rest of the counties and, NHIF cover for the elderly and severely disabled. In addition, Hon. Speaker, I have allocated Kshs7.9 billion from the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund to fund the universal healthcare initiatives. Other allocations to improve health service delivery include Kshs2.9 billion for doctors/clinical officers/nurses internship programme; Kshs14.4 billion for Kenyatta National Hospital; Kshs9.2 billion for Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital; Kshs2.3 billion for Kenya Medical Research Institute; Kshs7.4 billion for Kenya Medical Training Centres (KMTC), and Kshs1.2 billion for health workers internship programme. 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."
}