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{
    "id": 975412,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/975412/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 180,
    "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": "debt ceiling and to ensure that external debt service costs do not breach internationally accepted debt service to exports ratio threshold in the medium term. You remember last year when we were reviewing the debt ceiling, there was a commitment by the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury that they would adhere to the Medium- Term Debt Strategy. They would not only adhere to that, but that they would make an effort to move away from domestic and commercial borrowing to more of concessional loans. That, as I indicated, is yet to be seen clearly from what they have presented in the Medium-Term Debt Strategy and the Budget Policy Statement for the next financial year. We, therefore, insist that before the National Treasury submit their estimates this year, they must give a clear framework of what they intend to borrow, from where they intend to borrow it, what is concessional, what is commercial and even what is to be borrowed from the domestic market. You will appreciate that Members have expressed concern that even after the review of the capping law, we are yet to clearly reap the benefits that were envisaged by the repeal of that law in terms of being able to provide more credit to the private sector. It is credit to the private sector that will spur economic growth and create jobs for the millions of our youth who remain unemployed. We can only do that if we allow the Government to move away from the domestic market and allow the private sector to borrow more, invest and create opportunities. On the financial recommendations, the Committee requests that this House adopts this Report and further resolves as follows: (i) That, the ceiling of each arm of Government for the 2020/2021 Financial Year be capped as stipulated in the report: (a) Parliament – Kshs39.14 billion (b) Judiciary – Kshs19.05 billion With your permission, once you propose the Question, I will be moving an amendment for these two votes. (c) Executive - Kshs1,778.13 billion. For the Judiciary, as I said, I will be proposing an amendment to the figure of Kshs19.05 billion and for Parliament, a figure of Kshs39.14 billion, which I have also indicated. (ii) That, Kshs3 billion be allocated for strategic responses to public initiatives. This is what relates to the public participation initiative that we carry out as a Budget and Appropriations Committee. We have already covered 24 out of the 47 counties. Our term in office comes to an end at the end of this year. We had a framework where we had planned to complete all the counties in this current financial year and the next one. We have proposed Kshs3 billion for that. I will be moving an amendment to that because of the fiscal constraints that I had mentioned. Everybody has taken a cut. As I mentioned, the Executive has taken a cut from about Kshs2 trillion in terms of expenditure in this current financial year to Kshs1.778 trillion. That speaks to an almost Kshs228 billion cut in expenditure. Therefore, for everybody, including Parliament, the Judiciary and even those public participation initiatives, we plead that we all take a cut to allow our country to progress. (iii) That, the financing gap that will arise from these changes be funded through re- prioritisation and re-alignment within the Executive’s approved ceiling. We should not tax Kenyans more but we re-prioritise to fund any increases that will be occasioned by these changes. (iv) That, in effecting the proposed ceilings for each arm of Government, the National Treasury should take into consideration the summary of recommendations of the 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."
}