Eng. Nicholas Gumbo

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 571 to 580 of 3504.

• 8 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: I have alluded to the fact that by debating this Bill, we are inadvertently admitting the diminishing role of Parliament. My good friend, Hon. Chrisantus Wamalwa brought a Motion to this House which was passed. From what I know because I happen to have been in this House for nine years, a Motion passed by Parliament is a resolution of the House. A resolution of the House is a directive to the Executive to execute that resolution. What then do we make of the constitutional provisions which are very clear that Parliament manifests the diversity of the nation, represents the ... view
• 8 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: behind in our education system. It will help us to come up with reward schemes to improve our education system. This is a good Bill but as my good friend, Hon. Erick Keter had said, we ought not to have come to where we are. This is the way it should go. Ranking is a natural thing. It happens in our daily lives and to try to attempt to do it otherwise is an exercise in futility because it will happen anyway. It is happening right now. I have a son in Maranda High School and the other day, I ... view
• 8 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I have no intention whatsoever to interrupt my good friend. However, is he in order to ask for what is already provided for under the Bill? Part of what this Bill is seeking to do is to make rules and regulations for ranking of schools. That is what he is saying. Is he in order to ask what is clearly provided for under the Bill? view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The principles of public finance as outlined in Article 201 of our Constitution are very clear. One of those key principles requires that the burden of taxation shall be shared fairly. The other principle under Article 201(b)(iii) says that expenditure shall promote equitable development of the country including making of special provisions for marginalised groups and areas. view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: Under Article 201(c) of our Constitution, we are required to ensure that the burden and use of resources and public borrowing shall be shared equitably between the present and future generations. Based on these constitutional provisions, I find myself constrained to support this Motion. Hardly three years ago, our national debt stood at below Kshs2 trillion. In three short years, with the approval of this House, our national debt currently stands at almost Kshs3.5 trillion. What it means is that every Kenyan, including Members of this House and children being born at this particular time, are indebted to a tune ... view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: I know, of course, that it is important that we have an efficient port, Mombasa being our largest port at the moment. But even as we look at what we need to do to improve efficiency at the port, we also need to ask ourselves what has been ailing the efficiency of the Port of Mombasa over the years. I have heard people saying that you need a long shoreline to have a port which can handle many more containers. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for ... view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: busiest ports in the world is the Port of Singapore which currently handles over 30 million 20 by 40 equivalent containers per year. Before the second berth is done at the Port of Mombasa, our container handling was hardly a million 20 by 40 equivalent of containers per year. This means that we cannot compare to the capacity of the Port of Singapore. By the way, Singapore is hardly the size of Rarieda Constituency. Other than merely expanding the port, we need to look at what is really hampering efficiency within the Port of Mombasa. I dare say here that, ... view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: So, our appetite for debt is becoming unmanageable. Really, the conversation we should be having as representatives of the people of Kenya is how to dampen our appetite for debt. Debt might look attractive. I remember about two years ago when this House set to increase the public debt margins for the country and we were told that we were only giving ourselves a safety net. That literally opened the floodgates for this unbelievable expansion of our public debt. view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: The objective may be noble, but really, when we do things like this, are we living by the constitutional principle which requires that the burdens and benefits of the use of resources and public borrowing shall be shared equally between present and future generations? Are we not merely picking up debt which we know we will not be able to service now? We are well aware that the burden of paying this debt is being transferred to future generations who, by the way, are not responsible for this unbelievable exponential expansion of our public debt. view
• 7 Jun 2016 in National Assembly: The conversation this country should now be having is how to reduce public expenditure. Why are capital projects becoming possible only through debt? Why can it not be possible for us to live reasonably within our means by trying to do as many of the capital projects as possible through the substantial revenues that we raise in this country? We are shying away from that reality. The truth of the matter is that currently, there is too much unnecessary public spending even in terms of what we give to public offices in this country. We need to have a bold ... view