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{
    "id": 952248,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/952248/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 564,
    "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": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Chairman. I could not agree more with the Committee and, more so, first, in disagreeing with the National Treasury in terms of the proposals in the Finance Bill. They have listened to the people of Kenya. Secondly, it is a fallacy that banks are not lending to SMEs and individuals because of the interest rate capping. The interest rate capping is just an excuse. The principal reason why the banks are not lending to SMEs and the private sector is Government dependency on borrowing from the domestic market. If we want to fix the problem, let us first fix the problem of domestic borrowing. I spoke about it during the Second Reading. I thank the Chair, especially for taking the proposals to constitutionalise what was said by the court to have been unconstitutional in the provisions of the “Jude Njomo Act” on interest capping. I ask the National Treasury to listen to the people and the people’s representative and act to check on our level of domestic borrowing. Once we do that, we shall not need to even deal with this issue of capping. Thirdly, is the issue of Government management of its own cash flows. Almost 70 per cent of the money that the Government borrows from the domestic market belongs to the Government. The Head of the Public Service, Joseph Kinyua, has come up with a circular that is in a way trying to check on that problem, especially with our parastatals, but it is not enough. I have an amendment to the Public Finance Management Act that speaks to that particular issue of cash flow management in Government because that is where the problem is. I wanted to use the word “devil”. The problem is in cash flow management and our domestic borrowing, and not interest rates capping."
}