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{
    "id": 941896,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/941896/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "John Mbadi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "But the application of austerity measures must be done within the law. Hon. Kaluma talked about Article 95 of the Constitution. It is clear that the National Assembly has been given the authority to determine the allocation of national revenue between levels of Government and goes ahead to appropriate funds under Article 95(4) (b), appropriates funds for expenditure by the national Government and other national state organs. So, appropriation of funds is an exclusive responsibility of the National Assembly. Article 221 of the Constitution is clear that the Cabinet Secretary is required, two months to the end of a financial year, to prepare and submit to this House the estimates of expenditure for the national Government. Alongside that, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary is required, together with the Parliamentary Service Commission, to submit estimates of expenditure to the National Assembly, not to the National Treasury. Once the estimates are approved, Article 221(6) of the Constitution says that the Appropriation Bill will be prepared and submitted to the National Assembly approved by the National Assembly and that will appropriate funds to various organs of Government. Once that appropriation is done, it is again this House, through a supplementary budget, which can change and alter the appropriated funds. No any other organ or officer has the mandate in law to appropriate funds. What the Cabinet Secretary can do is to request this House to re-appropriate money in another way through a Supplementary Budget and that is what we expect him to do. But it should also be understood that the national Government, as the Executive, can decide through other methods within procedures to re-allocate funds within ministries and departments. There is no problem with that but it has to bring that to Parliament through a supplementary appropriation. But asking another arm of Government which this Constitution has exclusively given monies through appropriation of the National Assembly to cut its budget is an infringement of the Constitution."
}