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{
    "id": 941516,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/941516/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 432,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Moi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 305,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Kipsiele Towett Moi",
        "slug": "gideon-moi"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute on this very serious matter. I do agree with my colleagues that we find ourselves in a very unenviable position and a very grave position as a country. We have heard that in 2013 the public debt was around Kshs2 trillion or Kshs1.2 trillion. By July we had reached threefold to nearly Kshs6 trillion. This, of course, is totally unsustainable. At the rate that we are going, it will be impossible to conduct any meaningful economic activity. Having said that, we have to face the facts. The fact is that we find ourselves in a position that we do not have funds to complete the existing projects and we do not have funds to continue doing any meaningful development projects. Whether we like it or not, the fact remains that at this position there is no wriggle room. The Cabinet Secretary said to the colleagues that he has nothing to give out, he cannot pay and he cannot complete projects. If he does not get this gap in the ceiling, I can assure you that the next thing which will happen will be an economic meltdown. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the reasons which we have to be aware of and wise to is that if you do not have any wriggle room, what do you do? The commercial loans that we have are extremely expensive. It is prudent that we retire the expensive commercial loans and get cheaper sustainable loans. We cannot say we throw it out and continue paying expensive loans; that is not being prudent. We must borrow, retire the commercial loans, take cheap loans and complete the existing projects that we have. That we have to do. Sen. Murkomen talked about what happens next and he said that a new debt management organisation should be set up. That is okay, but the most important thing after this is for us as a country generate enough revenue in order to pay back the loans that we have. The only way to do so is for the Government to change its economic policies. We must completely change our policies. We must use the factors of production that is land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship and encourage them. We must unlock all that we have invested in, for example, the SGR. It is pointless for SGR to carry passengers and you think that you are doing a good thing. That is consumption. We want SGR to carry goods and services to create wealth. That is why we built it. Those are the policies which we are saying need to be changed."
}