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{
    "id": 987913,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/987913/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1167,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "It is important to note that the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock never made any submissions. All the other Departmental Committees except the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock made submissions before the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Many of them were not able to engage meaningfully with their Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) because of the time constraints and the social distancing requirements due to the shortage of space in the National Assembly. Hon. Speaker, you will appreciate that this Supplementary Budget is being processed at a very unique time when the country is grappling with a global health pandemic that has brought the economy to a near standstill. This has necessitated significant budgetary cuts and adjustments in order to reflect those new economic realities. Our revenues are at an all-time low largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will continue to affect our performance in this last quarter of the year and, realistically, even at the beginning of the next financial year. Our revenues will be badly battered by this pandemic. It is necessary that we exercise austerity measures both in the Recurrent and Development Expenditure and that is reflected in this Supplementary Budget. For the first time, as the Budget and Appropriations Committee, we can comfortably say that this is one such time that the National Treasury is justified to have a second Supplementary Budget in the middle of the year. There is a significant under-performance of our revenues. As at the end of March, our revenues had a shortfall of about Kshs123 billion. From the estimates done by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the Tax Laws (Amendment) that the President proposed to this House and announced to the country are good. But they will hit our revenues in this last quarter to a tune of about Kshs129 billion. If you consider the shortfall of about Kshs123 billion and the Kshs129 billion, you will appreciate the significance of this COVID-19 pandemic and how it is negatively affecting our economy this year and, maybe, even up to the next year. It is important that the interventions by the Government towards fighting COVID-19 pandemic are supported. It has necessitated that under the Supplementary Budget, cuts are done even in the Development Expenditure as much as that may occasion the rise of pending bills in the coming year. That is because most of those monies had already been committed. Contracts had been signed and there are already ongoing works. There might be a rise in pending bills. We must appreciate the efforts by His Excellency the President, who announced the payment of pending bills in June last year in Narok. It is only until now that we have seen a meaningful effort towards resolution of pending bills, including the historical ones. I remember one old man from Kajiado lamenting that he had supplied his cattle to the State Department of Correctional Services and the Prisons Department, but was yet to receive payment. In this Supplementary Budget, Kshs6.2 billion has been set aside towards the settlement of pending bills specifically in the State Department of Correctional Services. The National Youth Service (NYS), even with its many problems, will receive an allocation towards the settlement of pending bills. We have noted in our policy resolutions that, as much as there are pending bills; some that are historical and some that are scandal-ridden as described by the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, Hon. Wario, the Government must make an effort to ensure that they are properly authenticated and paid. They should not pay anything on the excuse that Parliament has provided money for it. We are providing money so that once they verify and authenticate that the bills are payable, they have resources within their coffers to pay. Our people who have been suffering will now be paid. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}