{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155173","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=155171","results":[{"id":1569912,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569912/?format=json","text_counter":124,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Chute","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Mr. Speaker, Sir, on behalf of Sen. Karen Nyamu, I beg to ask the following Question. (1) Could the Cabinet Secretary state the medium-term strategy to reduce the fiscal deficit from 4.9 per cent to a sustainable level? (2) What measures is the Ministry undertaking to support counties noting that the 2025 Budget Policy Statement projects GDP growth at 5.3 per cent and stable inflation, yet county governments face a contracting fiscal space and rising costs? (3) What interventions is the Ministry implementing to address the pending bills crisis in county governments, particularly in Nairobi City County, where pending bills have accumulated to approximately Kshs121 billion, and what mechanisms are being enforced to ensure timely settlement of supplier debts and prevent further accumulation? (4) How does the National Treasury plan to manage increased domestic borrowing by the Government without crowding out private sector credit and stifling economic growth in light of constrained external financing and the lapse of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program, signed in April, 2021?"},{"id":1569913,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569913/?format=json","text_counter":125,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Kingi","speaker_title":"The Speaker","speaker":null,"content":" Hon. Cabinet Secretary, you have 15 minutes within which to respond and also allow supplementary questions from hon. Senators. Kindly paraphrase because we already have your substantive response. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1569914,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569914/?format=json","text_counter":126,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Kingi","speaker_title":"The Speaker","speaker":null,"content":"Please, proceed."},{"id":1569915,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569915/?format=json","text_counter":127,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning"},{"id":1569916,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569916/?format=json","text_counter":128,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Hon. John Mbadi): Mr. Speaker, Sir, in responding to this Question, although this is an area that sometimes I am passionate about, I will not go overboard. To effectively manage the prevailing fiscal deficit in Kenya, the Government through the National Treasury has adopted a multi-pronged approach with notable focus on both revenue generation and expenditure control. You can call it revenue generation and expenditure or fiscal consolidation. There are several steps or approaches to this- (1) Strengthening financial controls; (2) Diversifying borrowing sources; (3) Improving debt repayment planning; and, (4) Promoting efficient resource allocation. Those are the steps that we are taking to ensure that we reduce the fiscal deficit to manage debt sustainability. I will give you an example. In the next financial year; 2025/2026, we plan to have a budget deficit of about 4.5 per cent and not 4.3 per cent as indicated in the document. We have revised it to 4.5 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent of this current financial year. Actually, it is going to be about 5.1 per cent in the next financial year. We are reducing the budget deficit. The best way to address, enhance or ensure debt sustainability is to persistently and consistently reduce budget deficit year by year. I want to report that in the Financial Year 2020/2021, the budget deficit was 8.3 per cent. In the Financial Year 2021/2022, it came down to 6.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the Financial Year 2022/2023, it came down to 5.6 per cent and we came down to 5.3 per cent in the Financial Year 2023/2024. We are not at 5.1 per cent, but we want to move to 4.5 per cent. Continuously and in the medium term, we will be at 2.7 per cent. The reduction of budget deficit will help us on debt sustainability."},{"id":1569917,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569917/?format=json","text_counter":129,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"It is important to note that this can only be realized through fiscal consolidation. Fiscal consolidation means that you enhance revenue collection. That is why we are working on automating the processes and procedures of the KRA. We want to make sure that we enhance efficiency and effectiveness of that institution. On the other side, we are also managing expenditure and prudent use of public funds. Revenue is one area that has resulted to over budgeting over the years, which has given us high fiscal deficit. One step that we have taken is that we have revised the Financial Year 2025/2026 revenue estimates down from Kshs3,018,000,000,000 to Kshs2,757,000,000,000. For the first time, the National Treasury's estimate of ordinary revenue is below the estimate by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). The National Treasury's estimates have always been higher. We are doing that to make sure that we are realistic on the revenue side. I will now move to expenditure. Here, I will talk of the things that we are doing to ensure that we cut on expenditure. We reduced our expenditure based on the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) that was approved by Kshs120 billion for us to live within our means. We are taking steps to actualize fiscal sustainability. The Government will sustain efforts to strengthen accountability, transparency and the revenue mobilization path by the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy. We are also The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."},{"id":1569918,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569918/?format=json","text_counter":130,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"strengthening expenditure control and improving efficiency and effectiveness in public spending. That is why on 7th April, 2025, I officiated the launch of the e-procurement system to maximize value for money and increase transparency in procurement. From 1st July, all Government procurement will be done through e-procurement platform and no one else will be given excuse. Over 3,000 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will be on-boarded. The on-boarding is going on and we are training the suppliers and the contractors on the use of this system. We have also implemented zero-based budgeting approach for this financial year for the first time. We have also operationalized the assets and inventory management modules in our IFMIS for all MDAs. In order not to crowd out the private sector and the provision of public services, the Government is scaling up the use of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework for commercially viable projects. A number of projects are lined up for PPP such as Rironi Mau Summit. We are also thinking, working and moving forward with the Standard- Gauge Railway (SGR) that will largely be on PPP. We also have the Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Project, and a number of projects under the energy sector, especially the energy transmission."},{"id":1569919,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569919/?format=json","text_counter":131,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"The Government is also piloting a new human resource management system, which will be rolled out to all national Government ministries and departments as well as all county governments in order to improve the management of the wage bill, including statutory payroll deductions. In view of the constrained fiscal environment, prioritization during resource allocation will be critical in ensuring low priority expenditure are dropped or deferred to give way to high priority service delivery programmes. MDAs are, therefore, required to re-evaluate all existing or planned activities, projects and programmes to be funded in the Financial Year of 2025/2026, and we did that."},{"id":1569920,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569920/?format=json","text_counter":132,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"Next is the strategies to be taken. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can go on and on when it comes to how we are managing our debt because it is a very wide topic. Those are some of the salient features of what we are implementing. The other issue was strategies used to manage county government funding constraints. First, there is a reason for funding constraints. One is the low ordinary revenue collections over the years. It is important to note that over the period 2016/2017 to 2024/2025, actual ordinary revenue has always been below target, except for the Financial Year 2021/2022. Therefore, such shortfalls in actual ordinary revenue collections have led to constraints in county government funding. This is real. We budget, but the resources become a challenge when we do not meet the revenue targets. Next is the need to finance mandatory expenditures under Article 203 of the Constitution. The Government has an inevitable need to finance mandatory expenditures under Article 203 of the Constitution. Such expenditures relate to national interest programmes such as security modernization and strategic interventions. This leads to fiscal deficit in financing other major national Government functions, which has always occasioned additional borrowing, which continues to distort our fiscal framework."},{"id":1569921,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569921/?format=json","text_counter":133,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"The national Government continues to solely bear shortfalls in revenue in any given financial year, as has always been demonstrated. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."}]}