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{
    "id": 987914,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/987914/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1168,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "However, as I said because of those shortfalls in revenue, this problem might continue to the next financial year and, maybe, in a few years to come. Other than those interventions that were highlighted by the President and what has been announced by the Government, the Committee is concerned that the response to COVID-19 through the Budget is somehow muted. If you look at the Budget and the Supplementary Budget, you will hardly see any direct linkage to the fight against COVID-19. I know the CS for the National Treasury has made announcements. Hon. Junet was just telling me that he has seen him announce on television that they have put aside Kshs40 billion. That includes part of this payment of pending bills and a part of the Kshs10 billion which has been set aside to be given to the old people who are above 70 years, the vulnerable in our communities and other small measures. However, the bulk of the expenditure increment in the Supplementary Budget is apparently to address the shortfall in personal emoluments on account of job evaluation and CBA agreements as well as settling of pending bills. The national health institutions at the forefront of fighting COVID-19, institutions like KEMRI which are doing a splendid job towards the testing of COVID-19 cases, need support. I saw it in the news that they are developing a locally made test kits for COVID-19. We expected more resources would be given to institutions like those - institutions like Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenyatta University which are also at the forefront. I must say that, in cognizance of that, you will see what we have done in our resolutions. I am just trying to save time. I do not have to go through everything in the Report. You will see in one of our resolutions in the Report, our policy recommendation number 23, that we want the National Treasury to allocate Kshs3 billion as special ring-fenced resources to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially with regard to protecting frontline health workers through the purchase of personal protective equipment among other protective gears. We have ring-fenced resources to the tune of Kshs3 billion for the centers that we expected would have benefited from resources. I know there has been something very populist. It is asking MPs to announce their salary cuts. Let me say the Kshs3 billion here are cuts that have come from Parliament, both the National Assembly and the Senate. I know the other House had also announced a meagre Kshs200 million. Therefore, you can tell where the bulk of the Kshs3 billion is coming from. We have said we want to ring-fence this money. We do not want to give sacrifice money from Parliament and just take it back to the coffers without saying where it should specifically go. We want this money to specifically go to combating COVID-19. We have said that we want to ring- fence this money for institutions like KEMRI, KNH, Mbagathi Hospital, Kenyatta University Hospital which has been identified as an isolation and treatment center, Coast General Hospital, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu, Kitui County Referral Hospital, Mandera County Referral Hospital and the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret. The selection and choice of those institutions was basically informed by where the epicenter of COVID-19 is and by the counties that have largely been affected by it. That is why we have picked Mandera and Kitui which have cases and, we have picked Mombasa that will cater for the Coast Region - that is Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa counties. I do not want to belabour the point because Members have copies of the Report. I will wind up because of time. The Leader of the Majority Party is saying he is tired. He forgets that we were with him here in the morning. 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."
}