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{
    "id": 968869,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/968869/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 415,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Godfrey Osotsi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13172,
        "legal_name": "Godfrey Osotsi",
        "slug": "godfrey-osotsi"
    },
    "content": "should not be experiencing such issues when we have well planned. For example, with regard to inadequate revenue collection, this morning we were debating the issue of vetting of the new Controller of Budget. I listened to the nominee, who is now the Controller of Budget, saying that one of the challenges is that budgeting officers at the National Treasury do no use projections by the KRA. That is why sometimes we do not meet the targets we want to achieve in our budget. Now that the new Controller of Budget has identified the problem, we will not have issues like under- expenditure as highlighted in this Report. The second issue is pending bills. Again, this issue is a reflection of poor planning. They arise as a result of delays in release of the Exchequer, variation of project costs and austerity measures introduced mid-stream, for example, what we call budget rationalisation and weak budget controls. These are issues and challenges that can be addressed if we had a proper planning regime. Sometimes we wonder whether there is a coordination problem between the planning department, the budgeting department and other organs of the State which are concerned with planning processes. The issue of pending bills can be resolved. Again, the issue of public debt as indicated in this Report increased to 137 per cent within a period of five years. This is a serious issue. I want to thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee because in their Report, one of the things they recommended is that we set-up an independent budget management office to look at issues of public debt because this matter has to be addressed. The Speaker’s ruling to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning was that they need to bring a report to this House analysing all reports on public debt. This will inform this House on the challenges around public debt and how to address them. Someone talked about the supplementary budget. I want to agree with Hon. Dr. Eseli that if you see many supplementary budgets in a year, it is a sign of poor planning. If you plan well, you will have very few supplementary budgets. An important recommendation was raised in last year’s budget that new projects should not be introduced in the supplementary budget. Even the supplementary budget we have just passed has introduced new projects. So, it raises the question of whether they did not foresee a project would come up in the next few months. In the past, we could have one or two supplementary budgets, but now they have become too many. This is not a good sign and I think something has to be done about it. The Controller of Budget is a key person when it comes to public finance management. She is the second gatekeeper to the Consolidated Fund. Now that we have passed a new Controller of Budget, we want to see effectiveness in that office. One of the issues we are concerned with is that the Controller of Budget is supposed to manage budget implementation. She is also supposed to ensure that funds are released to evaluated projects that meet the set requirements. In the last financial year, we wondered how the Controller of Budget oversaw the payment of public money to ghost projects like Arror and Kimwarer dams. We do not want to hear such things again. We have also heard about the Eurobond. So, we expect the new Controller of Budget and the National Treasury to play their roles very well. We also expect 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."
}