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{
"id": 1431471,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431471/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3827,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you. Next is the Member for Teso South."
},
{
"id": 1431472,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431472/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3828,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Teso South, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mary Emaase",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity. From the onset, I rise to support the Second Supplementary Estimates. This Motion is very important because it seeks to provide additional funding to cater to emerging priorities and emergencies. There has been an increase in recurrent expenditure of Ksh38.71 billion, and most of these monies go to the State Department for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and Regional Development. This will directly mitigate the impact of the El-Niño rains we witnessed nationwide. Besides addressing the emerging issues and priorities, the Second Supplementary Estimates are basically meant to adjust, review, and align budget allocations. For example, we did budget performance and noticed serious under absorption in some MDAs. So, at this point, we also align budgetary allocations with budget absorption to reflect the current and accurate position. We also look at the A-in-A projections. Some institutions had projected to collect certain amounts of money. However, after assessing our budget performance for the financial year 2023/2024, we realised that some institutions or MDAs had under-collected while others had over-collected or surpassed their projections. Again, the Second Supplementary Estimates seek to align and reflect true figures. With the increase in recurrent expenditure, most of the money goes to personal emoluments, and this cuts across various MDAs. Some of it goes to medical insurance for civil servants, security operations, and also to cater for allowances for our security and drivers. 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."
},
{
"id": 1431473,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431473/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3829,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Teso South, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mary Emaase",
"speaker": null,
"content": "These are areas that did not have sufficient funding before. Therefore, this is very critical. There is a reduction in development funds, which is affecting donor partner funds. This is of concern because it may increase operational costs and has been attributed to shortfalls in revenue collection. By April 2024, we had collected Ksh21.79 billion against the projected Ksh24.21 billion. As a House, what does this mean going forward? This means that as we prepare to debate and engage in the budget estimates for the financial year 2024/2025, we need to focus more on revenue-raising measures and how to shrink our expenditure further. We need to look at areas of duplication and overlaps. This is especially true in the water, agriculture, and health sectors where there is a lot of overlap within the MDAs. This House needs to address this by further shrinking expenditures and, therefore, minimising deficits. I support the amounts allocated to the school feeding programme, fertiliser subsidies, and sugarcane farmers. I laud the Budget and Appropriations Committee for a good job. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I support."
},
{
"id": 1431474,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431474/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3830,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Makali Mulu."
},
{
"id": 1431475,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431475/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3831,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon (Dr) Makali Mulu",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also want to join my colleagues in appreciating this good work and make the following observations."
},
{
"id": 1431476,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431476/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3832,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon (Dr) Makali Mulu",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, if we look at the Supplementary Budget, we will realise that a few areas have been taken care of that are critical to Kenyans. The first one was an increase in resources for schools infrastructure that was destroyed by floods. That is very good. The only observation I make is that with this money being allocated, we need to ensure that there is equity in the distribution of the resources so that these additional resources are equitably shared so that all parts of the country that were affected benefit. The second critical matter is the pending bills, which are quite a thorn in the flesh of Kenyans. It is important that the Committee has also factored in some resources to clear them. My appeal is that we consider Kenyans who have been waiting for long for their pending bills to be cleared so that they pay their bills. In that case, we will make sure that we do not have people who have pending bills from last year paid while those who have been waiting ten years are not paid. The other important issue is that political parties have been allocated an additional Ksh200 million, which is critical for the growth of democracy in this country. The reduction was Ksh800 million, but now the increase is only Ksh200 million. We understand matters of the Exchequer release might be a challenge in terms of disbursing the entire Ksh800 million. However, as we move to the future, it is very important that we allocate resources to political parties if we want to grow our democracy. This is a matter for all of us, as a House, to support so that our political parties become strong. With strong political parties, democracy in this country will grow, and the country will do well politically. The other concern I have is the reduction of infrastructure resources, particularly roads. With the flooding we just experienced, it is unfortunate that road funding has been reduced. We understand some were donor-funded, and, on that basis, resources could not be accessed. But, Hon. Temporary Speaker, we need more resources going towards roads as opposed to reducing them. In the Estimates, we should factor in more resources to develop roads. Another matter worth mentioning is the use of Article 223 of the Constitution. We continue to experience abuse of this Article. It is important for the Executive to do what it takes to reduce the abuse of this Article. The Article only allows for unplanned activities and emergencies. We realise that some of the expenditures do not fall under those categories. It is important, as a country, to take care of this. 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."
},
{
"id": 1431477,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431477/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3833,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon (Dr) Makali Mulu",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Another issue concerns the development budget. The more we continue reducing the development budget in our Supplementary Budgets, the less we will help the economy grow. The total amount reduced in the development budget is a huge figure. Even if it is the issue of absorption rates, it is important that we use development budgets to grow this economy. My last point is what the Deputy Speaker mentioned, which is very important. It is important for us, as a country, to tie the reports of the Public Accounts Committee with the reports of the Budget and Appropriations Committee so that those MDAs that have been highlighted by the Public Accounts Committee for not spending public resources well should not get more resources when we are budgeting. That has been a gap. We need to sort it by the Public Accounts Committee sitting down with the Budget Appropriations Committee when it comes to the Estimates so that we harmonise those two reports and only allocate resources to areas where we are getting value for money. I thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1431478,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431478/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3834,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng'",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Mbadi, you have heard what Hon. Makali has said. I know you are the Chair, Public Accounts Committee."
},
{
"id": 1431479,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431479/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3835,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nominated, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
"speaker": {
"id": 110,
"legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
"slug": "john-mbadi"
},
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Let me also make my contributions on this Motion before us on the Supplementary Budget II. I know this is a very difficult time for the Budget and Appropriations Committee. I congratulate the Committee, which is led by Hon. Ndindi Nyoro, for scaling the stairs and chewing gum at the same time. This is the time that they not only consider Budget Estimates II, but also the main Budget Estimates alongside other very important Bills like the County Allocation of Revenue Bill and the Division of Revenue Allocation Bill. Having said that, I want to say the following. One is that even though we say because of economic realities, that is why we are cutting the Budget, the truth of the matter is that we have deliberately, as a country, for years now, been untruthful in our budgeting process. I say so because the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities force the Government of Kenya to mislead the public on the projected revenue collection. There is no single time, as a country, that we have been realistic in our revenue projections. We use projected ordinary revenue as a balancing figure. What we do, as a country, is to project expenditure. After projecting expenditure, we then decide how much we will get from external and domestic borrowing. We lump the remaining amount into the projected revenue. That is dishonest. The IMF also stands accused of participating in this dishonesty, agreeing with Kenya and allowing it to misreport its budgets. We are saying that the Budget is being cut by Ksh24 billion. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am saying this because I know you also sit on the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Yes, we are cutting the Budget by Ksh24 billion, but where is the cut? The cut is on the development expenditure of Ksh75 billion, and there is an increase in recurrent expenditure of Khs51 billion. What is the justification for this? When we cut the development budget, we simply do not grow the economy. So, when we cut the Budget for this year, we affect the following year because the economic growth for the present financial year is supposed to help and influence what is supposed to happen in the economy in the subsequent financial year. It is not right to always and continuously reduce our development expenditure at the expense of recurrent expenditure. As a House, we are being dishonest. We continue to complain in every cycle about misuse of Article 223 of the Constitution, but we do nothing about it. In fact, we help the Executive to perpetuate this vice. I have proposed legislation in this House to streamline and bring a statute to actualise Article 223 because it is too general – it is a blank cheque – that we give the Executive, particularly the National Treasury, to misuse. We use Article 223 even to buy pieces of land as we did with the Ruaraka land. That can never be an emergency. When I 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."
},
{
"id": 1431480,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1431480/?format=api",
"text_counter": 3836,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nominated, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
"speaker": {
"id": 110,
"legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
"slug": "john-mbadi"
},
"content": "made this proposal, which went to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, the Committee was initially very receptive. However, when the National Treasury appeared before the Committee, it made a complete about-turn and somersault. Now, my Bill has been rejected. How on earth would a Committee kill a Bill that is supposed to come to 349 Members of Parliament to make a determination and a decision on, and then we come here and complain about how Article 223 is being misused? We have allowed the Executive to misuse this Article at will and to actually steal from the people of Kenya - taxpayers’ money. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as I wind up, I want to mention that I support the allocation of money for flood mitigation and particularly for reconstruction. The constituency I have represented for 15 years in this House, which I continue to live in and hope to continue representing in the future, Suba South, had the worst disaster that we have ever encountered - Sindo. We lost lives. There is a Mzee who lost his three children and his home together with his land. He could not even construct or bury his three children on that land, and I had to use my money to acquire land for him. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I hope he will be one of the people who will be given money for reconstruction so that he can buy land and build. I only bought one acre for him. He has a family of 10 children, and he lost three of them in a day. He now has seven children and still needs to reconstruct his life. So, this money should not be taken to specific areas. It must be taken and given across the country. We are giving money for fertiliser subsidy but the same is being stolen. This House made a resounding decision on the Cabinet Secretary. A few of us went and sanitised it later. These are the things we should not do because Kenyans get fatigued with taxation. When their taxes are being misused, they get fatigued and are not happy. When they see us, they see criminals who are participating in sanitising people who are stealing their money. Finally, I have heard, listened and agreed with what Hon. Deputy Speaker said about ensuring that there is prudent use of resources. I support that. However, as we call upon PAC to scrutinise these accounts, it should not be lost to this House that we are under-funding a very key institution called the Office of the Auditor-General. If you look at the financial reports that we receive from this Office, there is a rush in compiling and auditing them. We need more resources in this Office, so that they can do forensic and special audits which are more detailed. In fact, the few special audits that I have before my Committee are so detailed and damning in their findings. However, if you look at the financial audits, you do not expect the PAC to bring damning reports. Where will they come from? The Office of the Auditor-General is not well resourced to do proper audit. Let us give them money to do proper audit and come up with special and forensic audits. PAC will bring reports that can be used to control and manage corruption in this country. Hon. Temporary Speaker, with those many remarks, I support the Motion."
}
]
}