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"id": 941620,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/941620/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Linturi",
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"speaker": {
"id": 69,
"legal_name": "Franklin Mithika Linturi",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I hope with that extension you will give me more time. I was saying that, with the power given to us by the people of Kenya, it would be an act of irresponsibility on our part as elected leaders to vote blindly on a Motion that seeks to expand the debt limit without first interrogating and getting convinced that the money we are seeking to borrow will go to the right place. We also need to establish where we are in terms of cash flow projections, whether this country has enough money to pay for the debt. That has to be established. I am apprehensive and not convinced because when you look at how we raise our revenue, how we collect our taxes and where our taxes come from, I am left wondering why our coffee, tea, milk or agriculture sectors is not doing well. It is supposed to be the largest employer in the country. Those contractors or people who do business with Government have permanently delayed payments. For that matter, because of delayed payments, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is not able to collect Pay-As-You Earn (PAYE) and Value Added Tax (VAT) in good time. I cannot be convinced that we are adequately prepared and whether we have enough money to pay for the debt when it is required. Without forgetting what the role of this House is; where we must be the protectors of our counties and their governments, I may want to remind everyone that when you look at the provisions of Article 203, before the equitable share is agreed on, the first charge on our locally raised revenue is public debt."
}