Hon. Members, there is a Communication that will come just before we get to Order No.8. Proceed.

Hon. Members, Standing Order No. 225(2) (b) requires the Speaker to report to the House any petition, other than those presented by a Member. I, therefore, wish to report to the House that my office has received a petition submitted by Mr. Philip Njuguna on behalf of Kandara Residents Association, which draws its members from Murang'a and Kiambu counties. The petitioners claim to be the original owners of land presently occupied by Del Monte Kenya Limited but were illegally displaced and the land was leased to Del Monte Kenya Limited. The petitioners aver that, in anticipation of expiry of the lease, the County Government of Murang’a has irregularly renewed the lease in favour of Del Monte Kenya Limited, contrary to the provisions of section 13 of the Lands Act, 2012, which provides that, at the expiry of a leasehold tenure, the National Land Commission (NLC) shall inform the lessee of his or her pre- emptive right to allocation of the land upon application, provided that- (a) such lessee is a Kenyan citizen, and (b) the land is not required by the National or County Government for public purposes. Hon. Members, the petitioners opine that, by proceeding to unilaterally renew the lease, the County Government of Murang’a not only usurped the exclusive power vested in the NLC to renew leases, but also side-stepped the constitutional principle of public participation to determine whether the public also had an interest in the land. This is in total disregard of the resolutions of Kandara residents made in February 2017 that the public interest of the residents be upheld. The petitioners also allege that the NLC intends to renew the lease despite recommending on 7th February 2017 that, to address the historical land injustice, the County Government of Murang'a should retain adequate amounts of land for settlement of claimants and public purpose, when the leases expire in May 2019. Hon. Members, given the said developments, the petitioners are concerned that their hope of reclaiming ancestral land at the expiry of the lease held by Del Monte Kenya Limited will be permanently curtailed. They are, therefore, praying that the National Assembly, through the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Departmental Committee on Lands, inquires into the matter with a view to ensuring that the process of renewing the lease of land held by Del Monte Kenya Limited is conducted within the law and in a transparent and participatory process that takes into account the rights and interests of members of Kandara Residents Association over the said land are safeguarded. Hon. Members, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 227, this Petition stands committed to the Departmental Committee on Lands. The Committee is requested to consider the Petition and report its findings to the House and Petitioner in accordance with Standing Order 227(2). I thank you, Hon. Members. I can see there is an intervention by Hon. Maanzo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me an opportunity to comment on this Petition. This is not an isolated case in this country and there are many leases, including in this city. There has been no clear method on how leases should be renewed, although the law has been there. Actions similar to what has been presented have been taken in many parts of this country. So, I believe this is going to help many people when the Committee considers this particular Petition. We will have a definite direction given by Parliament on how best to deal with renewal of leases. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Wandayi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also think this is a very important Petition and it needs to be dealt with expeditiously as soon as possible. You will agree with me that land remains a very emotive issue in this country. Even though we need foreign investors, we should not do so at the expense of the ordinary mwananchi . The law should be followed to the letter. One problem - even as the Committee deals with this matter - is the NLC. That is because the immediate former commissioners and officers did this country a lot of disservice. I hope that, as we try to reconstitute the new Commission, a lot of effort will be put to ensure we get the right people in place to deal with matters of land going forward. Thank you.

Hon. Muli.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me a chance to comment on this Petition regarding irregular renewal of leases of land to Del Monte. It is true that the issue of land is cross-cutting the entire jurisdiction of Kenya. Land gives a human being safety. But the land conflict in Kenya is causing violence out of socio-economic problems. I will give my constituency of Kangundo as an example. There are issues in Kamulu, Joska and KBC about a group of people who come together and register and then start claiming it is their ancestral land. It is high time this House gave a proper resolution about the rights of people and their ownership of land. Thank you.

Next is Hon. Baya.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I would like to contribute to this Petition and say that the problem with the renewal of leases is basically a turf war between the Ministry and the National Land Commission. The Ministry says that three months before the expiry of the lease, they have the power to renew it. However, when it expires, the NLC has the power to renew it. What many leasees do is they wait two or three months before the leases expire, they go to the Ministry and the Ministry actually renews the leases The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

despite the law that they have to wait until the lease expires. We need to actually un-tangle the law to ensure that one body has the absolute power to deal with these big leases. For example, Kilifi is one of the affected areas but before NLC says anything, you hear a lease has actually been renewed by the Ministry. That is where we start having a problem. The county government has not been consulted. No one else has been consulted but they say: “You see, the law says that at the expiry of the lease, the land reverts back to the county government and then now NLC can take over from there and renew or give back the land.” We need to go to the law and actually say that at the expiry or before expiry, NLC has the mandate to consult the county government on the same. That way, we will save these things. Otherwise, as the Petition says that Del Monte land is being renewed, yes they will renew it because the law is not clear on this matter. So, I urge that we do an amendment on the law. Thank you.

Finally, let us have the Member for Kiminini.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Indeed, this is a very important Petition. We are aware that even the Governor of Nandi, who is now in custody, was on a similar matter. We need some clarity in terms of the expiry of this lease. Who should be given preference? My colleague has cited that particular section of consultation. I do not think it is taking place. We know there are a lot of historical injustices in this country and it is under the function of the NLC. It is unfortunate we have not finalised on the issue of NLC. We are praying that the process is expedited so that we can have the commission in place. I am aware of some farmers from Trans Nzoia who, up to now, have not even got their title deeds because we do not have commissioners in NLC. It is a very critical Petition. We call upon the Departmental Committee on Lands to move with speed on this matter and not just look at Thika and Kiambu. They should also look at the side of Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and Nandi County where we have cases of land leases particularly with multi-nationals. I thank you, Hon. Speaker.

The Petition is committed to the Departmental Committee on Lands. Hon. Members, before we proceed to the next Order, allow me to recognise the presence, both in the Speaker’s Gallery and Public Gallery, of students from the following institutions: (i) St. Teresa’s Bikeke Girls’ High School, Kiminini Constituency, Trans Nzoia County. (ii) St. Marks Kiminda High School, Emgwen Constituency, Nandi County. (iii) Baringo High School, Eldama Ravine Constituency, Baringo County. (iv) St. Cecilia Girls’ High School, Lugari Constituency, Kakamega County, and (v) Kaganda Primary School, Kiharu Constituency, Muranga County. They are all welcome to observe the proceedings of the National Assembly this afternoon. We move to the next Order.

Let us have the Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House: The Reports of the Auditor-General and Financial Statements in respect of the following constituencies for the year ended 30th June, 2018, and the certificates therein: 1. Thika Town Constituency. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

2. Dagoretti South Constituency. 3. Westlands Constituency. 4. Kilifi South Constituency. 5. Kilifi North Constituency. 6. Changamwe Constituency. 7. Matuga Constituency. 8. Rabai Constituency. 9. Msambweni Constituency, and 10. Mvita Constituency.

Let us have the Chairman of the Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the House: The Report of the Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library on Visit to the National Broadcasters Show held in Las Vegas Nevada from 6th to 12th April 2019.

Next Order!

The first Question is by the Member for Pokot South, Hon. Pkosing.

Hon. Speaker, I wish to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government the following Question: (i) Is the Cabinet Secretary aware that Messrs. Matayo Poghisio Lotulia of ID No. 7690475 of Chepareria Location, Abraham Longura and Daniel Ritaikwang from Mosop Location of Sigor Constituency and Simeon Riomongole of Parua Sub-Location of Pokot South Constituency were abducted by persons allegedly said to be police officers outside Kapenguria Law Courts on 29th May, 2019? (ii) Is the Cabinet Secretary further aware that on 30th May 2019, the bodies of Matayo Lotulia and Abraham Longura were found at Kaptagat Forest of Uasin Gishu County with Daniel Ritaikwang and Simeon Riomongole being found later in critical condition in the same forest having survived gunshot wounds? (iii) Is the Cabinet Secretary aware that such cases are on the increase, including the murder of Zakayo Rotino of ID No. 21180699 and his daughter, both of Sigor Constituency, who were killed at their Chepchoina home in Trans Nzoia County on 13th January 2019, allegedly by the police? (iv) Could the Cabinet Secretary explain the circumstances surrounding the alleged extrajudicial killings with the objective of identifying the killers, ensuring justice to the victims and bringing the culprits to book?

That is a Question by Private Notice and it should, therefore, be prioritised by the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security where the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

CS will respond. We go the Ordinary Questions. The first on that list is by the Member for Bura, Hon. Wario.

Hon. Speaker I would like to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation the following Question: (i) Is the Cabinet Secretary aware that the Bura Irrigation and Settlement Scheme Rehabilitation Project which was initiated in 2013 has since stalled despite an initial completion target date of 2015? (ii) What components of the project were envisaged during inception, did they undergo any modifications and, if so, could the Cabinet Secretary provide evidence of the related correspondences with donors? (iii) Does the project include a component on financial support and capacity building of farmers and, if so, what is the status of implementation of the same? (iv) Has the donor or financier carried out appraisal on the current status of the project and, if so, could the Ministry provide evidence of the same? (v) When is the loan validity for the said project ending and how does it affect project implementation?

Very well. I believe it has now captured all the aspects.

Exactly, Hon. Speaker.

Question to be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock. Next Question is by the Member for Sabatia, Hon. Agoi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this chance to ask Question No.247/2019. The Question is directed to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development: (i) What is the Government of Kenya’s position on the continued use of Boeing 737 aircraft by airlines operating within its airspace, in view of the suspension and/or ban of such aircraft by other nations as a result of its involvement in accidents in the recent past? The second Question, which is more important and affects me because some of the people who died were my constituents and their families want help, is: (ii) What steps has the Ministry taken in assisting families who lost their loved ones in the accidents get compensated?

Hon. Agoi, just as a matter of clarity, do you mean just the Boeing 737? Is it just the 737? I thought there was something beyond that?

It is the Boeing 737 aircraft. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

No. It is the Boeing 737 Max. I thought you knew what you were asking? There are quite a number of Boeing 737s. You must be specific. Was the Question handed over to you by somebody else?

Hon. Speaker, I stand guided. I am asking about the Boeing 737 Max.

If this Question is handed over to the CS reading like this, he will tell you that it is not every Boeing 737 that has been suspended.

Hon. Speaker, we all know that the one that was suspended is the Boeing 737 Max. It is the one that crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

It is important that you capture every detail to avoid a situation whereby the CS comes with an answer that there has been no suspension of Boeing 737s generally. In your Question, you are stating that there are some that have been suspended, but you have not actually specified which ones.

I stand guided, Hon. Speaker, but my statement at the beginning had all the details. This could have been a typing error.

The Question will be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing. Next Question is by your neighbour, the Member for Yatta.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. My Question is to the CS for Lands: (i) Could the Cabinet Secretary explain the status of the report of the probe committee led by the then Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Mr. Callistus Akello, regarding persons living as squatters in Ndalani Location (of the former Yatta District) which was concluded in 1989-1990? (ii) What action is the Government taking to ensure that the squatters are not harassed and/or evicted by the absentee landlords?

Very well. To be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Lands. Final Question is by the Member for Nyaribari Masaba.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. My Question No.250 is directed to the CS for Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development: (i) Is the Cabinet Secretary aware that Ekona-Nyamasibi-Nyanturago and Keroka- Ibacho–Kiamokama roads in Nyaribari Masaba Constituency had been earmarked for tarmacking under the low volume sealed roads and allocated a sum of Kshs1.6 billion in the 2015/16 Financial Year, but no contracts were awarded or works commenced? The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

(ii) What steps has the Ministry taken to ensure that the contracts for construction of the two roads are awarded without further delay and that budgetary allocation for the two roads is provided?

To be responded to before the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing. Hon. Members, there is a statement by the Member for Teso North, Hon. Kaunya.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I stand to read a Statement on the demise of Hon. George Fredrick Oduya Oprong, Independence hero, former Assistant Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for the former Amagoro Constituency, which is currently Teso North and Teso South constituencies. As you are already aware, Busia County, and the nation at large, continues to mourn the death of a charismatic leader, statesman, Independence hero and trade unionist, the former Assistant Minister and MP for Amagoro, Hon. Oduya Oprong, MBS, who passed away on 25th May 2019 while undergoing treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital. The late Oduya Oprong was born in 1936 in Busia County. He studied at Chamasire Secondary School for his “O” Level and thereafter proceeded to Butonge Secondary School in Bungoma County where he sat for his “A” Level. The late Oprong’s journey into politics began when he became the first Secretary-General of the Kenya Quarry Mines and Allied Workers Union, being one of the founder members. He later became the first MP for Busia North in 1963. He was among one of the five surviving Members of the first Parliament at the time of his death; the rest being: His Excellency Daniel Arap Moi, former President; Charles Njonjo, former Attorney-General; His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, former President and Hon. James Osogo, former MP for Busia South, now Bunyala Constituency. In 1966, he was among 11 MPs who survived a by-election during the mass defection to Mzee Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s Kenya People’s Union until 1969 when he was replaced by Ojamaa Ojamong and later Emoto Ebu. He made one of the strongest political mileage when he served again as MP in 1974 on a KANU ticket until 1979 when he lost his seat to Achiya Echakara, the late MP and, thereafter, to Pancras Otwani. He vied for a third term in 1992 during the multi-party elections and was elected Member for Amagoro Constituency. Mzee Oprong served the country under his capacity as an Assistant Minister for Economic Planning and National Development at the time he was shot. He was awarded the Head of State Commendation (HSC), Civilian Division because of his contribution towards national development. He was known to many as a fallen retired politician who, with the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, championed for the release from detention of the founding father of this nation and the first President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Hon. Speaker, the late Hon. Oprong escaped death by a whisker in 1993 when he was shot twice one evening in Nairobi. This left him with bullet remains in his head for 25 years until his demise. On behalf of the residents of Teso North Constituency and on my own behalf, I take this opportunity to convey a message of condolence and comfort to the family, relatives and friends of the late former Assistant Minister, Mzee Fredrick Oduya Oprong, for the loss of the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

national leader and great community leader at this point in time. As a Member of Parliament, I want to assure the family of my support during this period of great sorrow.

Finally, the family of the late Member of Parliament presented a petition on the welfare of the late Hon. Oduya Oprong and his family to this Parliament, which is still pending determination in the House. I urge you to prioritise this matter. I wish to also emphasise on the need for the Government to conduct a further inquiry on the case to establish the motive behind the attempted killing of the former Member of Parliament. I also urge that the bullet that is currently still lounged in his head, and which could not be removed as doctors had instructed that its removal would endanger his life, be investigated and forensic investigation be carried out to determine the would-be killers. I also request the Members of Parliament to stand in prayer and support to the family of the late Member of Parliament for Amagoro in giving him a befitting send-off as the burial arrangements are in progress.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Very well. I can see that the Member for Suba South wants to say something.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also want to join Kenyans in mourning this great Kenyan who served as a Member of Parliament for Amagoro way back when this country was at its formative stage after the colonial rule.

If you allow me, I would like to talk about the plight of former Members of Parliament in one or two minutes. The case of the late Hon. Oduya Oprong is a classic example of how this country treats former Members of Parliament. Once you leave office, you live a pathetic life. Following that reasoning and together with the plight of many other former Members of Parliament, some of whom get as little as Kshs3,000 per month in the form of pension, I drafted a Bill which is taking too long. I am so worried about the processing of Bills, especially the pre- publication scrutiny. Once the Bill goes through the Budget and Appropriations Committee, it will go to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. After the First Reading, the same Bill will go to the same Committee. This process needs to be re-looked into. Those of us who are in the Committee in charge of our Standing Orders, I do not see the rationale of the same Committee doing the pre-publication scrutiny and looking at the Bill after the First Reading. I hope the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, and I am sure the Chair, Hon. Limo, is around, will expedite that Bill which is supposed to cushion the former Members of Parliament. Hon. Otieno Mak’Onyango was very eloquent in this Parliament but he cannot even afford Kshs10,000 monthly to meet his medication. Something needs to be done. These Members of Parliament are dying in numbers. They are now 153. They were more than 500 a few years ago.

As we mourn this great Kenyan, the plight of former Members of Parliament needs to be looked into. Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Members, when you press the intervention button, I see it. When you press your intervention and then you want to come and whisper to me, you look as if you are campaigning. Please do not do that. When you know that you have pressed the intervention button, wait where you are because I see it. Member for Naivasha.

Hon. Speaker, thank you for giving me this chance to mourn my former boss, Hon. Oduya Oprong. When I was a young girl, he was an Assistant Minister for Labour and that is where I used to work. He was a calm man. We loved him very much. We did not know we would ever enter this House because it was so prestigious The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

when we were young. He was a good boss. I wish his family comfort and God’s blessings at this time.

There is a Member who is standing in front of you. Is it that when you get into this House, you throw all care to the wind? The rules do not allow you to stand in front of the Member who is contributing. Proceed, Member for Naivasha.

Hon. Speaker, I pray that our good Lord comforts the family which I know because they used to come and see their dad when I was the secretary in the Ministry of Labour. I know the family and I mourn with them.

Thank you very much.

Member for Kiminini.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. On behalf of my family and the people of Kiminini, I want to convey a message of condolence to the family of Hon. Fredrick Oduya Oprong. The late Assistant Minister played a very critical role as far as the peace between the Bukusu and Teso is concerned. There were a lot of clashes before. The late Assistant Minister played a critical role in bringing the two communities together.

He was a very humble man. I heard about him when I was still in school. I visited the family which is in a very sorry state. This is very critical, particularly to the Parliamentary Service Commission. We need to do something to our colleagues who left this Parliament. They played a very critical role in legislation and are now living in poverty. You do not need to go far. When you go to our mess, you find many of them there languishing. They have been asking how far we have gone as far as their plight is concerned. I remember we attempted this in the last Parliament. I do not know whether the National Treasury rejected the proposal. It is important to look into their welfare because we are in today and we will be outside tomorrow. They are in a very sorry state. As we speak right now, I hope that the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, Hon. Limo, is here and he is listening. We must move with speed so that the request that they have put across can be implemented and money can be paid. In this time and era, what can you do with Kshs8,000? You cannot even pay rent in a slum. Hon. Oprong lived with a bullet in his head for 25 years and now he is gone. As parliamentarians who are here today, we know that the shoe-wearer knows where it pinches and we should help one of our own. When you leave this Parliament, you will not be employed by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) or the Government. We should look into this matter so that those former Members can also have a proper welfare as they move on.

I thank you.

Member for Nambale.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. On my behalf and that of the people of Nambale, I rise to pay tribute to the late Hon. Oduya Oprong whom I knew. He was a great leader from Busia County, Teso North Constituency. I got to know him when I was in high school. He was campaigning in the pre-election Parliament which was the first Parliament at Independence. This was an orator of great proportions

Hon. Members, I see that the Member for Kwanza wants to have the last bite.

Hon. Speaker, may I also take this opportunity, on my behalf and on behalf of the people of Kwanza Constituency, to pay my special tribute to the family of the late Assistant Minister. When I was in school, I heard and saw Mr. Oprong. He was a very eloquent speaker and I admired him because of the way he conducted himself and helped this country. As one Member mentioned, this is a man who made history. He is the only one I have heard of having a bullet lodged in his head for 25 years. He has died with the bullet. That is a special incomparable case.

I take this opportunity to say that Oprong was somebody who brought peace in Western Kenya when I was growing up. As my colleague, Hon. Chris Wamalwa, has mentioned, he was a man who brought peace in the region. Therefore, on behalf of my family, I pay tribute to Hon. Oprong.

Thank you.

Let us have the very last one from the Member of the Pensions Committee, Hon. Mwadime.

Shukrani, Mhe. Spika kwa nafasi ambayo umenipa. Kama Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Malipo ya Uzeeni katika Bunge, nachukua nafasi hii kutoa rambirambi zangu kwa jamii ya Mhe. Oprong.

Kwa kweli, viongozi waliokuweko mbele yetu, na haswa Wabunge, wanaumia sana. Katika Kamati yetu, kila siku, Wabunge wengi huja ofisini kwangu na wengi wao huwa hawana hata nauli ya kurudi nyumbani. Wana magonjwa lakini kununua madawa ni matatizo. Ni lazima tuliangazie suala hili kwa undani kabisa.

Hata wenzangu hapa, nawaomba kuwa hoja ikiletwa ya masuala ya malipo ya uzeeni, wajaribu kuisikiza na kuiangalia kwa undani kabisa kwa maana tutakachofanya wakati huu kesho kutwa kitatuhusu sisi pia.

Ahsante sana Mhe. Spika.

Hon. Members, take your seats. That is as a way of a reminder because I have noticed that we sometimes forget the Standing Orders as we walk into the Chamber.

I am informed that Hon. Kanchory will move the Motion. I hope it does not become a county affair.

It is not, Hon. Speaker.Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion:

THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Section 13 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, 2011 relating to extension of period for consideration of nominees for appointment to a public office, this House resolves to extend the period for consideration of the nominees submitted by His Excellency the President for appointment to Accra, Berlin, Bern, Dakar, Rome and Kuwait City Missions by a period of fourteen (14) days from 12thJune 2019.

First and foremost, may I take this opportunity to thank the House for the overwhelming support and contribution from Members during the debate on the Motion to adopt the Report of the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations on the vetting of nominees for appointment as Ambassadors and High Commissioners.

Hon. Speaker, on 29th May 2019, you conveyed names of nominees of persons for appointment as Ambassadors and High Commissioners to the Committee in line with the resolution of the House passed on Thursday, 9th May 2019 that required you to refer any names of nominees for appointment to a State office that you may have received during the recess period to the relevant committees without having to cause a recall of the House to convey the names.

During the same period, the Committee was preoccupied with consideration of the Supplementary Estimates and the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2019/2020 and the vetting of the seven nominees for appointment as Ambassadors and High Commissioners, whose The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Report was tabled and adopted last week. In this regard, the Committee did not embark on the approval hearings of the six nominees for appointment to the positions of Ambassadors and High Commissioners.

It is worth noting that the period for consideration of the nominees is ending tomorrow Wednesday, 12th June 2019. The Committee undertook the approval hearing yesterday Monday, 10th June 2019, and is currently putting together a report on the same. It is against this backdrop that, as a Committee, we are asking for the indulgence of the House to extend the period for consideration of the nominees by 14 days from tomorrow 12th June 2019 in line with section 13 of the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, 2011. This will accord the Committee adequate time to conclude the report and allow the House sufficient time to consider it.

With those few remarks, I request Hon. Caleb Amisi to second.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Just to assure you it is not a county affair, I rise to support the Procedural Motion by Hon. Elijah Memusi.

On 29th May 2019, you conveyed names of persons to be appointed as Ambassadors and High Commissioners to various missions abroad. Being a Member of the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations, I can confidently report that, as a Committee, we have had an avalanche of activities including consideration of Supplementary Estimates, Budget Estimates and the recently concluded vetting of the first batch of nominees that the House deliberated on. Given that consideration and tabling of reports has a timeline of tomorrow as the deadline, we believe an extension of 14 days will give us enough time to consider the report and table it before the House. In view of the fact that this debate has gathered a lot of public interest and it is good to have a list of nominees who have been vetted and thoroughly sieved to present before the public, I second.

Put the Question!

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 256 (Exemption of Business from the Standing Orders), this House resolves to exempt all petitions under section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act (No. 34 of 2016)(Petitions for variation of boundaries or revocation of public forests) from the provisions of Standing Orders 223(k) (exclusion of annexures) and 227(2)(sixty-day limitation and exclusion of petitions from debate) in order to allow relevant documentary annexures, accommodate time for public participation and provide for the compulsory resolution of the House in approving or rejecting petitions for variation of boundaries or revocation of the registration of public forests or a portion of a public forest as contemplated under section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act (No. 34 of 2016), and that this exemption is deemed to have taken effect at the commencement of the Second Session of the 12th Parliament.

Hon. Speaker, Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act (No. 34 of 2016) which is about variation of boundaries and/or revocation of forests, provides an opportunity for any person to petition the National Assembly or the Senate for variation of boundaries of public forests or revocation of a registration of public forest or portion of a public forest. This particular Motion is a very basic one. Under normal circumstances and specifically under Section 227(2) of our Standing Orders, once petitions are committed to committees, they are, within 60 days, supposed to bring reports to the House and, therefore, dispense with particular petitions. In the issue of forests, knowing the extent of interest in forest matters, it would be prudent that they be given sufficient time particularly for purposes of public participation. Public participation has been enshrined in our Constitution and for every Bills that are supposed to be made Acts, there is requirement that there should be public participation. Public participation takes a long time. There should be need for sufficient notices and so forth. Members of the public must also be given sufficient opportunity to ventilate on particular issues that are brought before them. What we are seeking to achieve is to get the public to participate in this very critical area of our legislations. So, when petitions are brought by the public to the National Assembly, they should be given sufficient time for each interested party to have a say on them.

Further, the petitions have to prove certain things. In this specific case about the Forest Conservation and Management Act, they have to prove that such variation or revocation does not affect or prejudice its value as a water catchment area, biodiversity, conservation, cultural sites, protection of forests or its use for educational, recreational, health and research purposes. Given the criteria factored into law, it becomes imperative for the House to consider such petitions thoroughly and effectively. It is with this in mind that we seek an exemption of provisions of Standing Orders 223(k) and 227(2) during consideration of such petitions. As I said before, Standing Order No.223(k) prohibits attachment of letters, affidavits and other documents to petitions. We seek exemption of the application of that Standing Order The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

because, by the very nature of this petition submitted under this Act, it requires annexures, lists of proposed beneficiaries, intended variations or revocations and other adjudication documents that need to be presented together with the petition. So, it will not be okay if it is done in the normal way like other petitions are done, where there are no annexures. For example, in the case of Mt. Elgon, there is a list of beneficiaries. That needs to be scrutinised. Therefore, it is important we exempt it from Standing Order No. 223(k). On the other part, Standing Order No. 227 requires that a Departmental Committee responds to the petition committed to it within 60 calendar days. We seek to have petitions exempted from this provision also so that they are considered comprehensively by this House to satisfy the purposes of providing a reliable roadmap and their eventual consideration by the relevant Departmental Committees. The same exemption shall also provide opportunity for involvement and consultation of a myriad of stakeholders having stake in forest matters, including governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies and the private sector. The adoption of this Motion, which we beseech this House to be agreeable with, will ensure that petitions before the august House submitted under Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act will be considered effectively and sufficiently, given their unique nature and ramifications. So, in order to enhance the efficacy of this initiative, the petitions in question will be those that were submitted in this House since the commencement of the second Session. With those few remarks, I beg to move the Motion and request the Chair of Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to second the Motion. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Kareke Mbiuki.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to second the Motion on the exemption of petitions from Standing Order Nos. 223(k) and 227(2). This House passed the Forest Conservation and Management Act, 2016. Under Section 34 of the Act, the House is required to consider and pass resolutions on the petition for variation of gazetted forest areas as guided by the petitions to Parliament Act and our own Standing Orders. As you are aware, there are conditions, requirements and guidelines that are set out under Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act in regard to those petitions. For instance, those petitions are to be subjected to an independent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and rigorous public participation as has been alluded to by the Mover of this Motion. The petitioner should demonstrate that any proposed variation does not endanger threatened or rare species, neither should it affect the value of water catchment areas or prejudice biodiversity, conservation, cultural sites and protection of forests. Based on the requirement of Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act as I have stated earlier, the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources has before it various petitions pertaining variation of boundaries of forests. These petitions include the one regarding variation of the boundaries of the Mt. Elgon Forest Reserve and the one regarding the degazettement of the 400-yard strip in Ngong Hills Forest for resettlement. These petitions have been before the Committee for consideration due to the rigorous requirement as per Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act. The Petition regarding variation of the boundaries of the Mt. Elgon Forest Reserve was tabled in the House on 5th July 2018, as presented by the CS for Lands and Physical Planning and the CS of Environment and Forestry. This was subsequently referred to a Joint Departmental Committee which brought together the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Resources and the Departmental Committee on Lands for consideration. The Committees intensively considered the Petition, having met the two CSs as well as the stakeholders on the ground. The Committee was very keen in compiling its Report on the same. However, pursuant to the recommendations of Standing Order No. 227(2), we were not able to table the Report. The Committee in charge of the environment has before it a Petition regarding the degazettement of the 400-yard strip in Ngong Hills Forest for settlement. It was presented to Parliament by Hon. George Sunkuyia, MP for Kajiado West, on 19th February 2019. The Committee had been considering the Petition as per the requirement of our Standing Orders. However, during the consideration and in line with Standing Order No. 227(2), it sought an extension of an additional 60 days to allow it to prosecute the Petition. However, the 60 days have lapsed as we wait for the Report on public participation and the independent impact assessment from the petitioner. Additionally, we have a Petition by Hon. Ayub Savula, MP for Lugari Constituency. He has brought a Question to this House which was committed to the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. It regards degazettement of 1,577 hectares of Mautuma Forest Settlement Scheme of Turbo Forest Reserve area. It is important to note that the same matter came before this House as a Petition from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, as it was called then, in the 11th Parliament. The Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources then considered the Petition and even tabled a Report in this House on 2nd March 2017. However, as you are aware, it was toward the tail-end of the 11th Parliament. The Report was, therefore, not debated. The Committee has now requested the Ministry to re-submit the Petition for consideration by the Committee and adoption by this House. The Ministry has committed to re-submit this Petition within the next two weeks. It is worth to note that Standing Order No. 227 does not provide for debate on petitions. Therefore, I urge this House to make consideration for debating such petitions for resolutions on variation of forest boundaries to be made and subsequently forwarded to the relevant Ministry for action. Arising from the Petitions that have been cited, it is, therefore, inevitable to exempt such kinds of petitions from the requirements of Standing Orders No. 223(k) and 227(2) to allow for adequate time to consider such petitions in line with Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act, 2016. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to second.

My hope is that Members have understood because both the Mover and the Seconder have gone into details explaining why.

Do I get the feeling that I can put the Question?

Yes, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Members, I wish to make an announcement and adjust the Order Paper. Hon. Members, the adjustment is to place business appearing as Order No. 16 to come before business appearing as Order No. 15 on the Order Paper. Reasons being, it is for the convenience of the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

House and also for the country that we consider the Report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on the Second Supplementary Estimates for the Financial Year 2018/2019 which, as you all know, is ending on 30th of June this year and also to allow that whatever proposals are there and proposed amendments are dealt with if possible, if Members find the energy to sit through this Afternoon Sitting. Therefore, even as I order that business appearing as Order No.16 be the next one to be considered, I also wish to draw the attention of the leadership and more particularly the whips… I can only see the Deputy Majority Whip present. I saw Hon. Wamalwa here but he has also taken leave. I hope he has not disappeared for the rest of the day. For you to carry through those processes, it is mandatory that there must be present in the House, in all those stages, not less than 50 of you. So, those of you who have contacts for those who came for 10 minutes and have already finished their business for the day, please tell them this is an important business. It is only fair that Members also look at what business is appearing so that even if it is your habit to only sit for 10 minutes, sometimes you can afford to sit for three hours. We are all human beings. Unless you are sick or you have some fairly urgent matter for which you cannot do without, please, for this to happen… Reason being that you know on Thursday, we will not be able to transact this kind of business because of the Budget Highlights by the Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury. It is in the Constitution that there must not be less than 50 of you present, excluding myself. As you all know, Kenyans decided that the Speakers have no vote and I am quite happy about that. I have no vote and, therefore, I should not be counted among the 50. The Whips, please, make sure you have as many of you at every stage for each Question to be put, before we can say we are through with this business of Supplementary Estimates. It is very crucial, as I understand and having spoken to the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

It is so directed, Hon. Members. Next Order.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on the Second Supplementary Estimates for the Financial Year 2018/2019, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, 6th June 2019 and, pursuant to the provisions of Article 223 of the Constitution of Kenya and Standing Order 243, approves: (i) an increment of the total recurrent expenditure for Financial Year 2018/2019 by Kshs.79.39 billion in respect of the votes as contained in the Third Schedule of the Order Paper; (ii) an increment of the total development budget for Financial Year 2018/2019 by Kshs.1.24 billion in respect of the votes as contained in the Third Schedule; (iii) an overall increase in the total budget for Financial Year 2018/2019 by Kshs.80.63 billion in respect of the votes as contained in the Third Schedule; and, (iv) further makes the policy resolutions contained in the Fourth Schedule in the Order Paper.

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Hon. Speaker, I beg to second. Hon. Ichung’wah, the Chair of the BAC has said it all. However, this is the second Supplementary Budget Estimates, which was subsequently submitted to his Committee in line with the Standing Orders and the recommendation made with regard to the Financial Year 2018/2019 Budget Estimates.

Hon. Speaker, some of the key areas which are addressed by the Supplementary Estimates II, and which seek to address resources either spent by the Cabinet Secretary in accordance with Article 223 will be spent after we pass the Supplementary Appropriation Bill and the salary adjustments on account of implementation of the second phase of the job evaluation that is being carried out by the Government. Secondly, there are resources which were also meant for expenditures on drought mitigation by the Government. There was a drought, during which animals died. The water and food sectors were affected necessitating the fast-tracking installation of water systems for the affected communities and their livestock. The other important thing is payment of pending bills, which I am sure will do much in terms of rejuvenating the economy and improving circulation of money. There are a number of people who supplied goods and services to the Government. I thank the President for his directive that all pending bills be paid before the end of this financial year. Of course, there are elements of security-related expenditures. Security is a changing phenomenon. There are new challenges and every now and then, budgets must be re-aligned to ensure that our country is secured from both internal and externally threats. I am sure there are expenditures that relate to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the National Police Service, including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Certain amounts have been put in the Supplementary Estimates II for compensation of sugarcane farmers. There are a number of task forces going on with their work and they must be funded by the Government. Purchase of maize and fertilisers and the operationalisation of the Sports and Social Development Fund are key areas that are found in the Supplementary Estimates II. There are also issues within the Parliamentary Service Commission that are crucial to Members and the House. So, I ask the Members that we need to publish the Supplementary Appropriations Bill overnight and bring it to the House tomorrow morning for approval and subsequently send it to the President for his assent, so that as the CS comes to present the Budget Policy highlights on Thursday, we will have disposed of the matter of the Supplementary Estimates II. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

So, tomorrow, we will be urging the Members to approve this Budget and again do all the three stages of the Supplementary Appropriations Bill. I ask the Members to approve the 2018/2019 Financial Year Supplementary Estimates II in order to enable key Government ministries, departments and agencies to utilise the funds before the closure of the financial year, which is due in the next few days. If the President assents and signs the relevant warrants on Thursday morning, then from Friday until the end of the financial year, the National Treasury will pay Kenyans who have pending bills. These are small-scale traders and big suppliers of services and goods.

Before I thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee and its Chair, this goes to the National Treasury. It is not good practice to submit two Supplementary Estimates in a single financial year. But this has happened due to unavoidable circumstances beyond the control of the Executive. I want to urge the National Treasury and the Executive that in as much as they can, they should avoid bringing two Supplementary Estimates in one financial year. I have been around for some time since the period of the former Ministers for Finance, Hon. Amos Kimunya, Hon. Michuki, Hon. Githae and many others. It is not best practice to have two Supplementary Estimates in one financial year. We will only agree where it is beyond the control of the Executive due to emergencies which may happen. As also indicated, the submission of the second Supplementary Estimate is to address the issues that I mentioned earlier in support of food security initiatives, the manufacturing sector, provision of critical infrastructure in our country and the scaling down of expenditure in order to achieve certain target overall deficit level within the economy. Most of the reductions in the development budget are for agencies, departments and ministries. The scaling down is due to the same scaling down by the donor funding communities to projects. Once the donors scale down their budgets, then the national Government does the same because it is proportionate in terms of percentage. There are few cuts as a result of budget rationalisation due to poor absorption level. For some agencies, departments and ministries, when we appropriate money to them, their absorption level is below 40 per cent. This must be an area of concern to the Executive, and more so the National Treasury. If you cannot absorb the money we give you as a House, in the next financial year, we should not add money to that agency. Why do we give you money and you stay with it? This is a result of corruption. They do a procurement process and the person does not get it? They cancel it and in the next six months, they keep on canceling. So, if an agency has a low absorption level, the Budget and Appropriations Committee and other departmental committees must not increase their money. We must give more money to departments and agencies that absorb their money 90 per cent in a more efficient and accountable manner. This is the same way that we deal with county governments. In the parameter of allocation to county governments under the County Revenue Allocation Bill, there is one per cent for fiscal discipline; that county X that does very well in terms of resource management and fiscal discipline gets more money in the next financial year. We must apply this to the national Government. The Committee raised their concern in the Report on the poor absorption of the development budget, which may affect the policy implementation and subsequent economic performance. When you do not absorb or use development money, the people that we represent are the ones that suffer. It has never been adequately explained to this House why development budget is rarely well absorbed. This is the question we must ask ourselves across the board. The development budget absorption level is always below 33 per cent. This House, that has the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

power to make the budget, must find out why this is the case. Accounting officers who are responsible must be penalised. The issue of pending bills is a major problem facing this country. Suppliers and contractors in our country are closing down their businesses, taking loans from financial institutions and paying with interest, and yet they are not being paid for their services. The Government cannot keep their money in an open-ended time frame. Going forward, we must amend the Public Procurement Act and ensure that when you supply goods and services like in the private sector, you are paid within 60, 90 or 120 days. The Government cannot keep suppliers and contractors’ money for two or three years. This is making the people of Kenya and particularly the small-medium business people to become poor. The same goes to county governments. I want to challenge the Controller of Budget from the Floor of this House that we are aware that the 47 county governments had a pending bill of Kshs92 billion. When the Auditor-General went out to validate the pending bills, he only validated an amount of Kshs50 billion and said Kshs42 billion is non-existent. Those are the projects governors use during campaigns by just offering letters. We now want to pay the Kshs50 billion, which was incurred by the previous governors because the current governors do not want to pay any bills from the previous governor. I am telling the Controller of Budget that when releasing money to the contractors and service providers in the counties, they should be paid directly and not through the governors. We are aware that internet banking, which the Controller of Budget uses to send money to the Central Bank, when it gets to the county governments, they pay different people other than those shown on the internet banking. I am telling the good Controller of Budget to be very careful when paying county governments pending bills. She might end up paying county governments and they pay ghost workers and projects. That is why the Senate should come in. It is their business to protect counties. We have a problem with the Division of Revenue Bill and that is the only entry point of the Senate in the whole budget-making process. They do not get involved in the Finance Bill or any amendments. They were given by the Supreme Court an entry into the budget-making process because they were not to be involved. They got this through an opinion of the Supreme Court because it is not yet a ruling. Their role is county revenue allocation when we send the block amount to counties based on the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA) parameters. The Senate must oversight what is going on in the counties. With those many remarks, I want to thank the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee together with Hon. Makali, Hon. Mbadi and many other competent Members, for ensuring that the integrated Financial Year 2018/19 Supplementary Estimates is before the House. Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution and the PFM Act of 2012, I now wish to second. I ask the House to take a little time to pass this so that the Budget Office can prepare the Appropriation Bill overnight. This will ensure that tomorrow, we can deal with this matter and ask the President to assent it into law. After that money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund as early as Friday. I beg to second.

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Hon. Members, I will allow one Member to contribute and then I have some proposed amendments. Perhaps, we needed to dispose of them so that when we go to the debate, we debate the Motion as amended. Let me call on Hon. Kareke Mbiuki.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. From the outset, I thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee for this Report. I also appreciate that we are towards the tail end of the financial year. When we come to the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, the water sector is basically funded by donors, especially dams. In the implementation of the projects, the absorption of the approved funds was quite low, hence the National Treasury has recommended the rationalisation of this Budget. We have the unfortunate issue of the Itare Dam where the contractor pulled out. In the Supplementary Estimates II, more than Kshs4 billion had been reduced from this project. The take-off of other dams, which had been factored for funding, especially Thwake Dam, has been extremely low leading to very low absorption of funds. However, there are some projects like the Kenya Towns Water and Sanitation, which are funded by the African Development Bank. In the main budget, they were funded and the budget was approved by this House. However, during the Supplementary Estimates II, for some of these programmes, and the money has already been expended, the funding has been reduced. This has affected the Tana Water Works Authority, Athi as well as the Rift Valley Water Works Authority. We shall be moving an amendment to this Report so that some of these projects where the funds have already been expended… We have seen very many pending certificates, which have been issued so that the same can be provided because all the funds by the donors are available. We have the issue of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) where they have collected more Appropriation-in-Aid. They are in short of more funding. Therefore, we shall also be requesting to amend this Report so that the same can be factored in to ensure that issues of aerial patrol and the wildlife crime investigation are properly funded. However, holistically, I really support this Motion and call upon the Members to support it. Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Kareke Mbiuki, you need to move your amendment. I have it and I have already approved it.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following amendment: THAT, the Motion be amended by inserting the following immediately after the words “Order Paper” in paragraph (iv)- “subject to: (i) Insertion of the following new paragraph (f) on Page 4 under the Policy Recommendations: “f. That, the National Treasury should authorise the Kenya Wildlife Service to spend the additional Appropriations-in-Aid of Kshs222.632 million to cater for running costs such as aerial patrols, wild crime investigation and prosecution, intelligence gathering, management at animal sanctuaries and other administrative costs for the month of June 2019. (ii) Insertion of a new paragraph (a)(i) under Financial Recommendations on Reallocation on Page 4 of the Report: (a) (i) That, the donor allocation for the Water and Sewerage Infrastructure Programme under the Water and Sanitation Development project in the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Ministry of Water and Sanitation, be decreased by Kshs2.298 billion, and re- allocated as follows: Kshs803.15 million to the Rift Valley Water Works Agency and Kshs1.495 billion to the Tana Water Works Development Agency.”

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I request Hon. (Eng.) Paul Nzengu to second.

Hon. Nzengu, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I second the proposed amendment as moved by Hon. Kareke Mbiuki. Indeed, the insertion of paragraph (f) that the KWS be allowed to use Kshs222 million from the Appropriations-in-Aid is as a result of increased revenue collections. We have a new management team that is keen to saving money from the collections from parks and other revenues for the KWS. We note that the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife is one of the ministries that is being underfunded by the National Treasury. Secondly, on the question of water and sewerage infrastructure programme under the water and sanitation development project, we realised during the interrogation that when the National Treasury was making the decision to cut some funding, there was no proper communication between it and the various water bodies.

For instance, we have a project in Oyugis Town where the contractor has already been given what we call an advance payment guarantee together with the consultants. That money has not been included in this Supplementary Budget, which means that it will become a pending bill. What this means is that in the 2019/2020 Budget, this will be reflected as a pending bill and that would deny the opportunity for that project to proceed. Rather than proceeding, the money for the 2019/2020 will then be used to pay the pending bills, which then prolongs the period of time for the implementation of this project. This is the case and yet it is donor funded and the donor money is there. The same applies to the money that is required for the Tana Water Works Development Agency, which oversees a couple of projects, including some in Mandera, Isiolo, Meru and many other areas. The Agency presented certificates that were ready for payment. Therefore, I beg to support that this amendment be included in the Motion on the Second Supplementary Estimates for the 2018/2019 Financial Year so that as we discuss it, the matter becomes part of the Motion. I beg to second.

Order Members! It looks like a few of us did not understand. I do not know how we will explain it to every Member.

Put the Question!

Could the Members who are standing make their way into the Chamber? Hon. Members, some of those making their way into the Chamber look a little elderly. They are likely to take too long before they get to their appointed places of residence. It is good to understand the proposed amendments. They are merely budget items unless a Member wishes to oppose. Perhaps it may be easier if we can just deal with this, so that the Motion is then debated as amended. That is the reason for taking this route.

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Hon. Members, in the same breath, let me ask the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, Hon. William Cheptumo, to move his proposed amendment.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move:

THAT, the Motion be amended by inserting the following changes in the Third Schedule in the Order Paper: Vote 1202: State Department for Tourism 1. Programme 0306000: Tourism Development and Promotion: (i) THAT, the proposed allocation under the Programme in respect of Capital Estimates, Kshs200,000,000 be deleted and substituted thereof with the figure of Kshs700,000,000; (ii) THAT, the proposed total allocation for the Programme, Kshs473,000,000 be deleted and substituted thereof with the figure Kshs27,000,000; (iii) THAT, the allocation for Vote 1202 (State Department for Tourism), in respect of Capital Estimates, Kshs200,000,000 be deleted and substituted thereof with Kshs700,000,000; and (iv) THAT, the proposed allocation for Vote 1202 (State Department for Tourism) in respect to Gross Estimates, Kshs437,965,000 be deleted, and replaced with Kshs62,035,000. Vote 2031: The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC): 1. Programme 0617000: Management of Electoral Processes Services: (i) THAT, the proposed allocation under the Programme in respect of Recurrent Estimates of Kshs333,000,000 be deleted and substituted thereof with the figure Kshs833,000,000; (ii) THAT, the proposed Gross Estimates for the Programme, Kshs290,000,000 be deleted and substituted thereof with the figure Kshs790,000,000; (iii) THAT, the allocation for Vote 2031 (IEBC) in respect of Recurrent Estimates, Kshs203,000,000 be deleted and substituted thereof with Kshs703,000,000; (iv) THAT, the proposed allocation for Vote 2031 (IEBC) in respect of Gross Estimates of Kshs160,000,000 be deleted and replaced with Kshs660,000,000.

Hon. Speaker, the essence of this amendment is to re-allocate Kshs500 million from the State Department for Tourism on Tourism Development and Promotion Programme to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). We have a very serious issue of outstanding bills in the IEBC to the tune of almost Ksh3 billion. What has been validated is Kshs1.5 billion. That is the essence of this amendment. Let me make it very clear that this was approved by the National Treasury. The Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee can confirm that position. That is what we are proposing. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

If we do not pay these bills, we will lose more because lawyers are threatening to tax their bills, which will increase the same cost to a level that will be a problem to the IEBC. That is the essence of this amendment. I want to request Hon. Members to support it. I beg to move and request Hon. Murugara George to second.

Yes, Hon. Murugara.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to second the proposed amendment on the grounds that it is vitally important that we take care of the IEBC, especially as we conclude the financial year and move into a new one, where we will provide more money to cater for pending bills.

Basically, if you look at what was allocated to the State Department for Tourism, it may not be an exigency as it is if you compare with IEBC, which has threads over its heads as regards to unpaid bills. When lawyers threaten to go to court to tax the bills, it essentially means that the amount of pending bills will increase and this will continue being a liability accumulated by the IEBC. This honourable House can move now and allocate Kshs500 million to the IEBC to cater for these pending bills to reduce the liability as a result of which the other pending bills will be taken care of in the main budget, which is also under discussion.

With those remarks, I beg to second.

The Member for Naivasha, kindly remain where you are.

Put the Question.

It seems that it is the mood in the House that I put the Question.

Hon. Members, for those who have been in the House when we commenced this process, it now means that the Motion which was moved by the Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee will be debated with those amendments. Having carried those amendments, we do not have to belabor the point. Did the Member for Alego-Usonga put his card and leave? Yes, Hon. Makali Mulu.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this chance to support this important Motion as amended. I want to make some observations. Supplementary Estimates are provided for under Article 223 of the Constitution. It says that Supplementary Estimates can be submitted to this House as long as it is done after every two months once the expenditure is incurred. The problem we have with the Supplementary Estimates this year - this is a unique year - is their timeliness. The first Supplementary Estimates came very early in the financial year, but the second one has come very late in the financial year. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

That is not good for purposes of planning and budgeting. It makes us not to take seriously the whole budget-making process. As we move forward, I urge the National Treasury to make sure that it submits Supplementary Estimates in good time and if possible, once in each financial year, so that we do it at once. That will add credibility to the budget-making process.

The Supplementary Budget has some good things that can be noted, but at the same time, there are some bad things which have been done. Let me mention some of the good things. In a situation where, as a House, we have been asked to regularise an expenditure which has been incurred, and more so where certificates have been issued, like what Hon. Kareka Mbiuki has just said in terms of water that is a good practice. At the same time, where we have Appropriations-In-Aid provisions in respect of which departments have collected money and are asking the National Assembly to regularise so that they can spend it without attracting audit queries is another good practice.

Looking at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, because of change of policy in terms of police reforms, we realise that they stopped housing police officers and have now started giving them house allowances. As a result of that policy shift, we are being requested to regularise so that they can get money to pay house allowances. That is a good a practice. These are the kind of things that should be presented to this House.

But there are some bad things also in the Supplementary Estimates. Let us take the example of money which was given to the Red Cross out of the Contingency Fund. In the Supplementary Estimates, the money has been sneaked through the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government while we know that they have issues with the Budget and Appropriations Committee in terms of expenditure. So, this cannot be a good practice. The Public Finance Management Act is very clear on what needs to be done for somebody to withdraw funds from the Contingency Fund. The procedure for withdrawing is very clear. When we looked at this matter, we realised that the procedure had not been followed. As a result, it becomes very difficult to approve such expenditure. I ask the House that for us to approve the expenditure, there is need to conduct a thorough audit. As it was proposed, the Public Accounts Committee needs to take up the matter and advise the House accordingly after doing their work.

The other thing is that there has been a reduction in the development budget. If you look at the Supplementary Estimates, you will realise that the development budget has been reduced because of two reasons. In some instances, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) do not have the capacity to use the money. Secondly, donors had promised to give money, but they have not done so. So, we must reduce the budget. The National Treasury must make sure that when they negotiate with our development partners for funding, they make them aware of the budget-making process and our timelines, so that they do not cause that kind of confusion at the end of the financial year. On the second matter of the absorption rate, it is important for MDAs to assess their capacity to implement their programmes, so that where they do not have sufficient capacity, they allow other MDAs with adequate capacity to use the money.

The other issue is the misuse of Article 223 of the Constitution. I want to single out the SRC. I have heard many Kenyans say that Parliament is punishing the SRC because of our house allowances. That is far from the truth. A situation where an independent commission goes ahead to purchase vehicles and then tries to capture that cost under the Supplementary Estimates cannot be allowed. Purchasing motor vehicles is not an emergency. What harm would they have gone The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

through if they waited for only one month after budgeting for the vehicles? It does not make sense to anybody who understands public finance for them to ask this House to approve expenditure to hire office space through Supplementary Estimates. When things like these are done, whether by us, the SRC, the presidency or whichever institution, we will say ‘no’ to such expenditure as a House. We need to be firm on that, so that we start pushing for financial discipline.

The other area that we need to caution MDAs on is their tendency to push for financing of development programmers through the Supplementary Estimates. I cannot be told that people cannot plan for development. Financing of development projects can never be an emergency. If they want to do a road, it is known that they have a whole year to plan for it. If you want to do a water project, you have a whole year to plan for it. It cannot be that when you want to do something, you tell us that you have realised that you need to do it now and, therefore, it is an emergency. You cannot put such project into the Supplementary Estimates. If we go that way, we will not be helping the country. We will be going against Article 223 of our Constitution.

With those remarks, I support the Motion as amended.

Hon. Kimunya, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the Motion on the Supplementary Estimates as amended. Let me start by thanking and recognising the efforts of both the Budget and Appropriations Committee and, indeed, all the other committees that worked very hard. As Members will recall, we were looking at the Supplementary Estimates II alongside the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2019/2020 almost simultaneously. Ideally, we should have finished one and used it as a benchmark for the next one, but we have this situation even as we discuss the Supplementary Estimates in the middle of the discussion of the Budget of 2019/2020. It tells a lot about something that needs to be done. I want to associate myself with the remarks made by Hon. Makali in terms of the best practices and what needs to be done.

I also wish to support the recommendations of the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the amendments that have been brought and the reasons that have been provided. However, just for purposes of good order and for the record of the House, I want to clarify one or two things. The essence of the Supplementary Estimates is basically to bring budgeting closer to reality. Budget Estimates are purely estimates. It is hoped things will take place as estimated, but rarely does that happen. Members may recall that when we were doing the Supplementary Estimates I, it was necessitated by the need to align expenditures to the revenues. Unfortunately, we look at expenditures before looking at the revenue raising measures that will finance the expenditure. So, when the Finance Bill and the revenue raising measures are brought, we find that the projected revenue is only so much and yet the House has approved expenditure beyond it. Even as we speak, in my calculations, I can see that we already have a gap of not less than Kshs10 billion between what we are approving in the 2019/2020 Budget Estimates and the revenue raising measures. We have not even taken into account that we are going to have gaps in terms of revenues. It is important to have it rationalised. Otherwise, people get the impression that there is money to spend, but it will never be funded. I think that was the emphasis in the Supplementary Estimates I. You also end up with situations where new expenditures come in the picture. The rains have come and have created havoc. Drought has come and you would expect maize shortage. You can be sure there will be a Supplementary Estimates at some point in the year for the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

purchase of food because of the vagaries of weather that have fallen between then and now and which have not been captured within this Budget. Those things are expected.

I know there have been concerns why we are having two Supplementary Estimates. It may look like a bad practice. Perhaps in our days, we had more latitude in terms of the timing you needed to bring it here. Unfortunately, in the 2010 Constitution, it was made mandatory in what was viewed as good order that any expenditure incurred outside the budget must be brought to the House for ratification within two months from the time the first expenditure is withdrawn. This means if you think there was budget for one budget item which was not there, immediately you make the first withdrawal within two months, you must bring it here. Potentially, you could even have 10 supplementary budgets being brought if 10 such withdrawals take place. Perhaps it is something that we might need to look at in future. Even as we relook at those laws, we know the 2010 Constitution was being done against a background of mistrust and hence the Government must have been constrained. This means that you end up with lots of bureaucracy and things being done just because you do not trust people you give power. We may need to look at the rationality of some of these things in terms of whether it should be every two months or it should be expenditure within a quarter or within the first half of the year. That anything incurred should be ratified at the end of the six months so that we end up with some kind of predictability in terms of when Parliament is involved in this ratification. This is while also not letting the National Treasury gets away with it in terms of spending and taking so long to have ratification which creates uncertainty with them as is the case now with the vehicles purchased by the Commission which notes in their wisdom that every commissioner must get a new vehicle. They are new in office and assumed that Parliament will ratify it anyway as a matter of course. The committees have seen that there was no wisdom in that kind of thinking hence somebody will have to take responsibility within the provisions of the law.

I wanted to just bring that up. As we are debating, I hope it does not look as if I am defending the National Treasury although a fair bit of me is still there. My heart is still there. It is for purposes of clarity that what the National Treasury is doing is because the law requires it to do. Ideally, even the National Treasury would not like to be doing supplementary budgets because it is a lot of work. As long as an expenditure or new budget line has come, obviously, it has to be done.

Members also need to internalise the fact that we are looking at the Supplementary Budget. I am glad some issues have been raised on the use of the Consolidated Fund, which does not remove the responsibility on the Auditor-General to further look deeper into what has been spent. Our duty as the National Assembly is to provide the funds and to demand accountability through the Auditor-General. So, we still expect the Auditor-General to come and delve deeper and look at some of the things that have happened so that the responsibility is not placed on the committees as if we are the ones supposed to audit what has been spent by the Executive. Ours is to receive the report of the people who pay taxes. If the Auditor-General confirms that they used the money in accordance with the law, then we are happy and we give more.

I do not want to delve deeper. I agree totally with the recommendations of the Committee. Perhaps Members may want to ventilate a bit. As the committees have agreed, perhaps there is not much of a debate at this point. We should probably spend more time on what is on the future on the Budget for 2019/2020 because the supplementary is basically ratifying The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

what has happened and we will leave it to the Auditor-General to tell us whether there was any mischief or it was all in good faith.

With those few words, I beg to support.

Put the Question!

I see the Member for Kilifi North wishes to contribute.

Hon. Speaker, under the Standing Orders of this House, I request that you put the Question, so that we can look at the future as proposed by Hon. Amos Kimunya.

Very well. Hon. Members, before I do that, I need to have you counted.

I can see there are some Members we may not have noticed. They were not counted because nobody saw them. The Vice-Chairman of the Committee is elegantly dressed, but could not be seen, and Hon. Chepkut who is as smart as ever.

Hon. Members, we have the requisite quorum as required under the Constitution.

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee on the Second Supplementary Estimates for the Financial Year 2018/2019, laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, June 6, 2019, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 223 of the Constitution of Kenya and Standing Order 243, approves: (i) an increment of the total recurrent expenditure for Financial Year 2018/2019 by Kshs79.39 billion in respect of the Votes as contained in the Third Schedule; (ii) an increment of the total development budget for Financial Year 2018/2019 by Kshs1.24 billion in respect of the Votes as contained in the Third Schedule as further amended in respect of the votes for Ministry of Water, the State Department of Tourism and the IEBC; (iii) an overall increase in the total budget for Financial Year 2018/2019 by Kshs80.63 billion in respect of the Votes as contained in the Third Schedule; and, (iv) approves necessary adjustments to the Votes as contained in the Third Schedule to incorporate the increases and decreases in respect of the votes for the Ministry of Water, State Department of Tourism and the IEBC; and, (v) further makes the policy resolutions contained in the Fourth Schedule as amended in respect to the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Hon. Members, before you take off, even as we engage in this debate for the Estimates for the Financial Year 2019/2020, you will also allow your House Business Committee to deal with certain aspects which you may expect it will want. So, this is the 2nd Allotted Day for this Motion. The following Members have contributed namely, the Mover, Hon. Ichung’wah, the Seconder, Hon. Lessonet, Hon. Katoo ole Metito, Hon. Sabina Chege, Hon. John Mbadi, Hon. Makali Mulu and Hon. Kimunya, who was the seventh to contribute before time ran out. He has a balance of five minutes. Since he has religiously and patiently been here since 2.30 p.m., he has the chance.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Indeed, my contributions were tied to our contribution as the Departmental Committee on Education and Research. I had highlighted, in the contribution, the dire need for funds that we suffer in the education sector. There is a mismatch between policy pronouncements that have been made in terms of support of the sector and funds that have been allocated. I do not want to go back to that. I think it was covered. I just want to go further and cover some of the issues that also came from a contribution from one of the Members. It is in terms of the concern that technical training institutes are not fairly spread across the constituencies. I confirm that, indeed, there was a commitment to have a TTI in every constituency. There is a roadmap for the achievement of that. The first and second batches have been constructed. The third batch is to be constructed. If this House could allocate more money to TTIs, all of them could be constructed at the earliest opportunity. We also noted in our Committee that, indeed, in five of the constituencies which we will be discussing at individual level, Members who committed to provide money for the NG-CDF as The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

counterpart funding for Government have not done their bit. These are now being shown as stalled projects while they should be open and benefitting the students in those areas. On our universities, we accept and acknowledge there is a financing burden, especially with the reduction in module students namely, the privately paying students who were financing the universities. Therefore, we appreciate the need for rationalisation. We accept the ministry has already started a review on potential rationalisation of universities. It may lead to mergers of programmes, universities and colleges and some reforms. I am hoping the Members will support these reforms when they are brought to this House. We all want a university in our county; we do not want a university in our constituency. The reality is different. We have seen that module may have been good, but it is not sustainable unless we allocate more money. We hope Hon. Members will support these reforms when we get them. I just wanted to highlight that the Departmental Committee on Education and Research has recommended some reallocation of funds that had been proposed for construction of digital labs. You remember in Phase I there was the issue of laptops for class One, Two and Three. The ministry appeared before us and said they would like to spend Kshs1.5 billion for construction of 750 labs. At least, we picked the figure of 750 because that is what is within the output. However, Members must remember that we have 22,000 primary schools. So, if we are only doing 750 labs, it means in 750 schools, leaving out 22,000 schools. This is not serious commitment towards a digital programme. We said we would rather use this money in support of TIVETs, which have already started where we have given commitment that every student going to a TIVET will be given Kshs30,000 as capitation. This money had not been provided. We are hoping it will happen and we will be asking for support. The 22,000 labs would require a minimum of Kshs22 billion. We will be hoping that the National Treasury and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) will get together and look at this seriously in the course of this year. They will then tell us whether they are prepared to do these labs as part of the digital literacy programme, where they are going to get the 22,000 labs and perhaps, even the best mode of pushing this money for construction. It may well be through conditional grants which are passed through the NG-CDF. The NG-CDF can take up that money, go and construct these labs and classrooms. Otherwise, we will end up with the same issues that we have. Similarly, we had recruitment of interns that had been proposed with money through MOEST. There is no clarity on how that was to be done. We recommended that this money be pushed over to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) which would either recruit the interns or additional teachers. At least, we are sure there will be teachers. We just saw the head teachers claiming they need 1.2 teachers. They will have 1.2. So, we will play good. In conclusion, we all agree that we need more resources. They are still required. We need to decongest our facilities and provide teachers. We also need books and laboratory equipment. We need more funds in our universities otherwise the quality of education for our children will suffer. I am glad people get it as we talk in this House.

The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Kimunya, you must remember that you had only five minutes. Hon. Kiti Chonga, the Member for Kilifi South is not desiring to be in this House. Next is Hon. Pkosing who is the Member for Pokot South. Hon. Pkosing had an interest to speak to this. He is not present. What about Hon. Sheikh? He is also not present. What about Hon. Atandi? He is not in. Let us have Hon. Wachira Kabinga, the Member for Mwea.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Report. As I support, I want to declare, from the outset, that I am still a student of the budget and the budget-making process. I have had time to go through this Budget. I do not want to dwell on the fact that what we see and what we have heard about the supplementary is as a result of a mismatch between expenditure and revenue. I do not want to dwell on that. However, I have made an observation that there is a deduction by 4.2 per cent in this year’s 2019/2020 Budget from the previous year. I am not sure what has changed. I notice that this is as a result of a reduced allocation to the Consolidated Fund and knowing that we still have a lot of debts that we are servicing. I am not very sure what the reduction is about. My concern is on two areas. One, I notice from the Report that there is a reduction on the allocation for subsidiary fertiliser. It is reducing from Kshs4.3 billion to Kshs2 billion. I am left wondering. Food security is a key component under the Big Four Agenda. When we reduce money for subsidiary fertiliser, we are simply saying that our farmers will either not produce enough or they will do it at a higher cost. I represent rice farmers who grow rice in my constituency. I guess rice farmers in the country have not been benefiting from subsidiary fertilisers which have been provided in an untimely manner. We have had serious discussion with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives and have agreed on how farmers would benefit this coming year. I am worried, now that there is a reduction, whether we will be on course to get the subsidised fertiliser in July which is when our farmers will start planting. The other thing I am concerned about is the Strategic Food Reserve (SFR). Again, I notice from the Report that there is zero allocation to this particular item. I can only hope that the Ministry has alternative ways of funding the SFR purchases. We have the SFR Trust Fund notified under Legal Notice No.15 of 2015. In the legal notice are mentioned items such as rice and canned beef, but have not benefitted from the SFR Trust Fund. We had engaged the Fund this year to extend its allocation to livestock keepers and rice farmers. Our intention was to benefit rice farmers the way maize farmers do. Since 2015, we have been implementing this particular item as if it were a maize strategic trust fund. I, therefore, have some concerns over that matter. I notice that in this Budget we have good things. We have an allocation of Kshs1billion to the Public Service Commission (PSC) to enable it engage our young men and women in an internship programme that will not only increase productivity, but will also give them hope in terms of getting employment. I notice that my time is over and I do not want to continue. I want to reiterate the fact that I am very disturbed about subsidised fertiliser. I am also very disturbed about the SFR. These are two items of concern.

Hon. Maero Oyula, the Member for Butula, you have the Floor. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Motion. I want to start by congratulating the Budget and Appropriations Committee for the good work it has done. Besides the normal budget, they have gone into details to analyse various items that are of importance. I also want to thank them for seriously looking at the education sector. The allocation for technical schools has been improved. This will encourage us to work on the TTIs that we are required to have in our constituencies. I am now happy that the TTI that is being constructed in my constituency will be adequately funded. With regard to primary schools, there is an allocation that will cater for the increase in the number of teachers. This has been a big problem. I hope the TSC will recruit the number given so that the shortage of teachers in our schools is addressed. The TSC has always had problems with funding that is required to increase the number of teachers. For that reason, we have a big shortage of teachers in both primary and secondary schools. This increment, I am sure, will help our schools which are over populated with students. Even if the teachers will not be enough, at least, the number will be increased. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, an analysis has been done on the support to various universities. Every university has received about Kshs80 million for construction of various facilities. This analysis is good because it will ensure that every university listed is supported. I wish to draw the attention of the Budget and Appropriations Committee to a university in Busia County known as Alupe University College, which has not been considered yet it is an ongoing project. The university college was allocated Kshs200 million during the Financial Year 2017/2018, but not much was spent because of the release of funds. Only Kshs10 million out of the Kshs200 that was allocated was spent during that year. In 2018/2019, Kshs280 million was allocated to Alupe University College, but not much has been spent up to now because of the cash releases. In the 2019/2020 proposal, there is nothing allocated to Alupe University College. I urge the Budget and Appropriations Committee to look into this matter because it is going to create pending bills in future. The ongoing works are bound to stall. This analysis shows us the areas the budget has concentrated on. With those few remarks, I beg to support this Budget. Thank you.

Hon. Koinange, the Member for Kiambaa, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Let me begin by thanking the Budget and Appropriations Committee for its tireless effort in drafting this detailed Report. We also thank the Committee for having considered our recommendations as Members of the Committee on Administration and National Security. The estimates for revenue and expenditure for 2019/2020 have been submitted against a backdrop of increased economic growth rate of 6.3 per cent in 2018 compared to a growth rate of 4.9 per cent in 2017. Despite the growth, insecurity is noted to be on the rise with the total number of crimes reported to the police increasing by 13.2 per cent from 77,992 in 2017 to 268,000 in 2018. On the other hand, crimes reported involving dangerous drugs increased by 44.1 per cent. The number of persons reported to the police to have committed crimes also increased by 5.1 percent to 75,037 in 2018 of which Kiambu Police Command Station had the highest share of 8.4 per cent followed by Nairobi City at 8.3 per cent. We hope that our new Inspector General of Police (IG) will reverse this trend by working hard to reduce these numbers with the resources proposed in this budget. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The State Departments for Interior Correctional Services, Immigration Citizen Services as well as the National Police Service Commission and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority fall under the Governance, Justice, Law and Order Sector (GJLOS) under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) sector. This sector is critical as an enabler of the Big Four Agenda as pronounced by His Excellency the President. Similarly, the Presidency and the Public Service Commission which fall under the Public Administration and International Relations (PAIR) are critical for providing overall leadership in implementing the third Medium-Term programmes and projects of Vision 2030. I am happy to note that significant resources have been proposed in this budget towards improving our security environment. The said Department for Interior has a proposed allocation of Kshs132.2 billion which will go towards the implementation of reforms targeted at boosting security services, personnel, and welfare that will guarantee Kenya’s safety. Our Committee noted that, the strategy on security for the Medium-Term lays emphasis on improving welfare, strengthening coordination among security agencies, scaling up investments towards modernisation, enhancing security operations and investigations, building professional capacity of the service and strengthening the partnership with communities and leaders. In this regard, the Government will continue to modernise the National Police Service in order to ensure that lives and properties of Kenyans are adequately protected. Already, the Government has enrolled new Police Service Standing Orders, Career Progression Guidelines and Basic Training Curriculum for police officers. The Government has also improved the welfare of police and prison officers through provision of house allowances to all officers and a comprehensive insurance cover and medical insurance. To modernise security, the Government has in the recent years invested in better equipment, training and working tools as well as strengthened coordination among security agencies. To further enhance security for all Kenyans, the Government will build on the ongoing security reforms by scaling up investment in security infrastructures such as installation of surveillance and control systems in major cities and towns, equipping of forensic laboratories and provision of police patrol vehicles. Going forward, the Government will facilitate research on informed ways of fighting crime by identifying ways of combating emerging forms of crime that are technologically aided such as cyber-crime, money laundering, terrorism financing, human trafficking, conflicts around the discovery of natural resources and internationally organised crime. We all appreciate the fact that economic crimes have reached unprecedented levels in recent times which has forced our security officers to even go beyond our borders to find these new threats to our national security. To effectively fight economic crimes and corruption, our Police Service must be properly resourced. The Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations that I chair reallocated money to other departments which in our assessment were under funded. Indeed, the Budget and Appropriations Committee has agreed with us according to this Report. Key among them included: i) Additional Kshs300 million to civil registration of which Kshs100 million will go towards digitalisation of records of births and deaths, and Kshs200 million will go towards the construction of an office building. The digitalisation of births and death certificates is critical to the security of our country. Without such records being stored in digital format, we may not tell exactly who is and who is not a The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Kenyan in the event we lose the manual that we are currently using. The birth certificate is what gives rise to any other document including the recognition as a Kenyan citizen. Securing this information in a Government building digitally is long overdue. If it will be implemented, it will go a long way in ensuring that our vital registration department is safe. ii) Additional Kshs200 million to the DCI to enhance the operations budget. The DCI is overwhelmed with both covert and overt operations which require more resources than what has been proposed. Due to resource constrain, the Committee could only manage the proposed additional Kshs200 million. iii) Additional Kshs300 million to coastal services to support the acquisition of more boats for patrol along the Kenyan coast line and inland waters of Lake Victoria and Turkana. As you know, there has been a big outcry from the public to make sure Lake Victoria and other inland waters are covered. iv) Additionally, Kshs177 million to the State Department of Correctional Services to complete stalled projects. v) Additionally, Kshs300 million to the State Department for Immigration ---

Hon. Chairperson, you know we are pressed for time. I will give you one more minute to wind up.

Hon. Pkosing, kindly relax. You will have your opportunity.

Most obliged, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. vi) An additional Kshs1 billion to the Public Service Commission as captured in this Report of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. This allocation will go towards monthly stipend of interns to be recruited by the Commission in the constituencies with an estimated interim stipend of about Kshs25 thousand per month. This country can no longer afford to ignore its youth in as far as employment and experience for jobs is concerned. We must empower our youth. That is why I have requested the Budget and Appropriations Committee to give us Kshs3 billion for this programme to help our youth. Thank you.

Very well. Hon. Members, I wish to remind you of the resolution you made on 13th February, 2019. You resolved that the chairpersons of committees will have priority of speaking when it comes to budget estimates. I will, therefore, follow strictly that resolution that the House made and allow the chairpersons to have priority. They will each speak for 10 minutes. So, the next chairperson in the order that is set by the Standing Orders is the Chairperson for the Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, Hon. Kisang.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity. I rise to support the Report by the Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC). As the Departmental Committee of Communication, Information and Innovation, we presented our Report to the BAC. We are happy with what they did with our proposals. We proposed re-allocations, reductions and increases to re-align the funding curves in critical priority areas and ensure that there are no duplications across the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s). The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The Committee also seeks to ensure that funding is based on performance, completion levels, absorption capacity, contraband funding among others. We reviewed the performance of 2018/2019 and took care of the absorption rates to ensure that those whose absorption rates were more than 80 per cent got more funding and those whose absorption rates were below 50 per cent had some reductions. Policy recommendations are also critical to ensure that programmes and projects are well executed and emerging challenges such as risk of contractors not being able to deliver on time are curbed. The Committee also noted that the process of tax exemptions relating to given flagship projects by the Government MDA’s is slow and negatively impacting on project timelines. There was an issue where contractors across the Ministries sought exemptions of Custom Duty from the National Treasury, but they say it takes as long as eight or 10 months before getting such exemption, and this delays the projects. Going forward, we would wish that the Treasury comes up with a template to assist the MDAs when they seek exemptions on goods and equipment lying at the Port of Mombasa. Further, policy recommendations are key to ensure obligations between MDA’s are also quantified, budgeted for and paid for. For instance, the Postal Corporation of Kenya is owed Kshs1.2 billion by the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government in rent arrears for hosting Huduma Centres across the country. I discussed this issue with the Chair, Hon. Koinange. I suggested that, if possible, his Committee re-allocates Kshs1.2 billion for settlement of the debt owed to the Postal Corporation of Kenya so that that can also undertake their services. Even if we do not do it now, we can do it through the Supplementary Estimates. The Ministry of Interior can re-allocate funds and pays the rent arrears owed to the Postal Corporation of Kenya. This was recommended as a matter of urgency to the BAC to ensure that the Interior Department prioritises payment to the Postal Corporation. It should also ensure that the Corporation is not subjected to such unfair financial burdens that can cripple its financial and operational competitiveness. We also recommend that the Postal Corporation be taken as the national logistics company so that all the departments use it as their logistics company to send parcels across the country. Internationally, other countries are doing the same. This is because Postal Corporation is operating in other areas across the country that are not viable commercially. For instance, both financial and policy recommendations are also informed by maintaining and supporting key strategic intervention such as the Big Four Agenda, affirmative programmes for youth, women and other vulnerable groups as well as funding critical enablers mainly in the infrastructure. In this particular item, we are saying that our youth require support. Through the Public Service Commission (PSC), I have seen that Hon. Koinange has already allocated Kshs1 billion for internship at the constituencies. We need to re-align this with the Ajira Programme so that instead of having two or three duplicated functions, we can merge them into one. For instance, in the ICT subsectors, one such initiative is the Ajira Initiative – which is proposed to be established and managed under a framework where there will also be private sector contributions to support eligible youths across the counties. However, the initial executive proposal allocating Kshs1 billion and approved by the Committee has been reduced to Kshs200 million through the BAC. This is a very good initiative if we allocated a billion shillings. The private sector will give a shilling for a shilling, basically merging the funds. So, we urge that during the Supplementary Estimates that will come in the course of the year, we reinstate the Kshs800 million that has been reduced and merge the money with what Hon. Koinange has proposed so The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

that we get interns. This is so, so that we can get more of them and get double portion of the money by private sector putting additional resources. Such funds are critical to funding innovations and securing digitally enabled jobs. That should be the way forward instead of subjecting the Ministry to budgetary allocation cuts. Indeed, in its submission, the Ministry projected an annual funding requirement of Kshs1 billion for the next five years. The private sector will also put in a similar amount. These are IBM, Google and other big industries in our country. Moreover, I know that the Budget and Appropriations Committee has recommended Kshs1 billion allocation under the PSC for purposes of employing interns who would be paid a monthly stipend of Kshs25,000. I propose such allocations be taken to Ajira platform and further enhanced to cater for both those qualifying for internship opportunities and those young innovative Kenyans seeking to secure innovations. We should empower them to take up digitally enabled jobs that will be secured through the fund’s mechanism. If we implement this and the Constituency Innovation Hubs (CIH), our youth will not have to look for employment. They should be able to employ themselves by doing online jobs during the day and at night as long as our wards in the country have at least a CIH. On that basis, the PSC will implement the policy guidelines on hiring of interns and leave the innovation part to the Ministry of ICT. Let them deal with the policy and employment of interns.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Ajira Platform Fund will be instrumental in the wider mechanism of the disbursements of the stipends to ensure support to programmes and projects that are in line with the Fund’s objectives such as securing digital enabled jobs and support oriented standards. This will also ensure sustainability of the fund’s programme, especially the counterpart funding from the private sector. We intend to build up this fund by allocating it Kshs1 billion every year to Kshs5 billion. Our youth do not have to migrate to cities to look for work as they will be able to work from home wherever they are. Notably, that is the reason we have also approved and enhanced allocation to Konza Technopolis, the future growth centre in the country. This will further enhance ICT innovations and support the service sector more robustly and become a leading centre for business outsourcing. This will contribute to economic growth and create employment with decent living wage and wealth creation. Basically, in the next few years the City will relocate to Konza and we will have a bigger city there.

Finally, I laud the Committee’s recommendation on ensuring that the Controller of Budget reports on both financial and non-financial programmes of actual targets and outright achievements. This will give a complete picture of how the various programmes are performing within the financial year and ensure that accounting officers are answerable to Parliament on quarterly basis. This is a good thing and we wish that the county assemblies take the same route.

Hon. Kisang, you must remember that time is of essence. I hope you have completed. If you have not completed, you have a minute to do so.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. You know that when one is speaking time moves fast. Our county assemblies across the country should put the county executives to task and report to them on quarterly basis so that money is put into good use and performance is enhanced. It is important for all the MDAs to report their A-in-A in the budgets. With those remarks, I support the proposals. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Let us have Hon. Pkosing. Hon. Gikaria and Hon. Mbiuki prepare your notes.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this golden opportunity. I am happy and I would like to join my colleagues in appreciating the work done by the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Of course, we all worked very hard because we were prosecuting two items Supplementary Estimates II and the Budget. I want to thank everyone. Further, in their Report, they agreed with our proposals in this manner: They agreed to allocate Ksh186.4 billion to the Department for Infrastructure Road Transport; Kshs93.8 billion to the State Department of Transport, State Department for Shipping and Maritime - Kshs2.38 billion and State Department for Housing and Urban Development - Ksh31.5 billion and finally State Department for Public Works with Ksh4.4 billion. These are the State Departments we oversee as a Committee. I want to thank my Committee for prosecuting these items during the committee stage. Let me make the following highlights about the State Departments that I have just mentioned. On roads, because they are under the State Department of Infrastructure, I want to be honest with you and the House that if there is one item people want in this country is roads. I am looking at my colleague, Hon. Ochanda whom I used to work with somewhere else. He is appreciating what I am saying. What affects this country and will improve it are roads. Everybody in this country wants a road. I am very certain even when the Budget and Appropriations Committee was going round the country doing public participation every Kenyans said they want roads. When I go to take my tea while seated with Hon. Members, they ask me what is there for their roads. Everybody wants roads and once we build roads, we have transformed our country. This is where the rubber meets the road and it is a huge need. When a budget is done based on needs then we should have sat down as a country and agreed to mop up all the resources. I want to ask the Chair that if it is possible we should mop up all resources and put roads as priority number one for this country because this is what everyone wants. Look at the resources we have been allocated under the Kshs96 billion of which Kshs55 billion is Recurrent Expenditure… Therefore, we have about Kshs100 billion going to roads. How many roads are we building in this country? About 1,000 kilometers of roads in various levels whether they are murram, tarmac or highways are due for construction. If you compare that with Kshs100 billion, you will find that the money is not sufficient. That is why I want to speak to the National Treasury and tell them that the people of Kenya want roads. In fact, we also promised them this in 2013 when I was a happy member of Jubilee that, we would build 10,000 kilometers of road. Where are we now? In terms of procurement, we have close to 7,000 kilometers and in terms of “black top” we have about 2,000 or 3,000 kilometers in the whole country. Therefore, there is a huge need for roads in the country yet we have a budget of Kshs100 billion for roads. So, how will it be used? Therefore, I want to use this opportunity to plead with the House to agree with us that this is one single item we need to concentrate on. Look at what I presented to the Budget and Appropriations Committee; there is a budget deficit of about Kshs135 billion in this financial year. Therefore, I am proposing the following going forward in terms of this item of infrastructure and roads. We should think outside the box. We want the House to agree with us and allow the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) to float a roads bond and not infrastructure bond in the next financial year. This is because sometimes The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

people misunderstand the infrastructure bond because it includes other things like water. For this one, I want to plead with the House to agree with the Committee the need to float a roads bond under the KRB of between Kshs200 and Kshs500 billion. This will really transform this country and in less than three or four years, we would have done the 10,000 kilometers of roads and ensure every part of this country gets a “black top” road. The question that comes is how the securities and bonds pay. As a Committee we have thought on behalf of the House and found an opportunity to fund these roads. We need to scrap a fund called “Annuity Fund” which was set up to pay for roads under Public Private Partnership (PPP). We have since seen that these are most expensive ventures. There is one road in Ngong which we took as an example. It measures 91 kilometers, and it was awarded Kshs22 billion. If you calculate how much this costs per kilometer, you will find that it comes to Kshs240 million. This is unsustainable. I have never seen a road in this country or in the world using Kshs240 million to do a kilometer of bitumen. I want the House to agree with us that we should scrap this annuity programme. In fact, we should even rule as a House and say, the annuity programme should stop with immediate effect. This is because it is a loss making institution. Therefore, we can take that money and float a bond of Kshs200 to Kshs500 billion and then we secure it using the annuity money because it is there. We are collecting about Kshs11 billion per year. This is good money for securities to make our roads. What are we comparing with this to say it is expensive? Low volume roads…

Hon. Ochanda and Hon. Nyikal, are you hearing the contribution which Hon. Pkosing is making because it is very serious. There is a road in this country that is being built at Kshs240 million per kilometer. I think this is a matter you should listen to a little carefully. Hon. Pkosing, please proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. It was awarded under the annuity program and it is the most expensive in the world. Therefore, working on behalf of the House as a Committee, we want the House to agree with us that we take that money rather than give some few individuals under annuity to securitise our roads to bond and build more roads. We can get between Kshs200 and Kshs500 billion and build roads in the whole country in less than three or five years.

How do we measure our roads in terms of construction? Low volume of roads per kilometer at Kshs40 million; conventional roads in rural areas at Kshs80 million; and highways between Kshs90 million and Kshs120 million. This is Uhuru Highway and other big ones used by big lorries. Why are we spending Kshs240 million on a road going to somewhere even though it will be used by people? I think we should spend our money in a good way which is what I am proposing. Secondly, in terms of roads going forward, there is something which was brought by the National Treasury last year about emergency repairs of roads after heavy rains. The Kshs8.7 billion was passed in this House to be used for repairs of our roads after the rains. You know what happened? It was removed during Supplementary I, but those roads in my constituency are still bad. I made a presentation to the Budget and Appropriations Committee and I have not seen it. I have only seen in their recommendations acknowledging my presentation. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The National Treasury promised to mop up resources from slow moving programmes to bring to these roads. It was Kshs30 million per constituency and it was passed in this House. So, where is the money? We do not know where it is. So, the question from my committee is: “Did Treasury lie to us by giving us money that we did not get and yet the problem is still there? Those are issues that we need to prosecute as a country, but to live with a budget deficit of Kshs130 billion in terms of roads is unsustainable. That is on roads and infrastructure and I plead with you and the House to agree with us so that we move our country forward.

On transport, yes, we agree with the Budget and Appropriations Committee. They have agreed with us to pass a budget of Kshs93 billion and to concentrate and focus mainly on the airstrips. We want to put all these things together and even reform the aviation sector. You will see tomorrow when I table that report. So, I plead with the House to agree with us. In Housing, we are doing very well. In fact, we have already started the low cost houses here in Nairobi. Therefore, that is moving very well only that there is that small problem of the court. I am sure it will be resolved in a short while and we will move. As I conclude, that programme has already controlled the pricing of houses in this country. My time has been taken up. With those few remarks, let us think about the roads in this country. I thank you.

Hon. Ichung’wah, Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, I hope you have listened carefully to the contributions by Hon. Pkosing with regard to an amount that was promised to all these Members concerning roads in their constituencies. They are waiting for it. Next is the Member for Nakuru Town East, Hon. Gikaria.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. First, I applaud the good work which has been done by the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Of course, as a Committee, we did not propose any additional funding because of the fact that for the last two years, we did that and we never got any increment because they were asking for a reduction from our side. However, at least we appreciate the Budget and Appropriations Committee through what they have given us in the coming Financial Year 2019/2020, an increase of about 21 per cent, which amounts to almost Kshs13.7 billion from the previous year. Both the Energy Department and the Petroleum Department have a small percentage going to Recurrent Expenditure. The bigger percentage goes to Development Expenditure. You will realise that energy is an enabler of the Big Four Agenda, and I thank the Government that it has now really appreciated the role that energy plays in trying to enhance and achieve the four agendas. This year, we were given substantially enough money for us to be able to do this. Secondly, of the Kshs77 billion that goes to energy, most of this has gone towards transmission and distribution. You will realise that we have been producing more than what we can consume. It is a fact that we, as accountants, sometimes do not understand. There is the law of demand and supply and if the supply is more than the demand, normally the prices automatically go down. The other way round is also true if the demand is higher than the supply. However, in Kenya, the energy sector has always beaten that myth and it is actually the other way round. The demand is lower than the supply but the cost of electricity has remained very high. This has been a very big concern in this country particularly because we want to be an industrialised country and yet we cannot provide cheap power. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

In fact, most of the industries now have run to our neighbouring countries. They are running away from Kenya and indicating that their production cost has gone high. They are particularly signifying the cost of power as one of the reasons why they are reallocating to the neighbouring countries. I think it is important for us now to start thinking on how much we put in generation and how much we allocate for distribution and transmission. It was very sad in the last financial year. Around 21 transmission projects which were up to 80 and 90 per cent complete were not given a single penny. This would have gone towards enhancing the demand aspect. It was very unfortunate that this current year, 2018/2019, the ministry has realised the importance of completing the 21 projects, about 70 per cent going to Nyanza and the western region. It is important for us. Power surges in those regions were daily talk, but I hope with the commitment that has been done through this Budget, we will be able to have enough power in western and Nyanza regions. We have also re-emphasised, as a Committee, the aspect of if you are going to do more generation, then it must come from renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. We are saying this because most of these areas are off grid areas and we cannot be able to supply enough energy to these regions because they are not connected to the grid. I am proud that in this financial year, we were able to do almost a Kshs10 billion project in Garissa that will produce over 50 megawatts to be able to supply the off-grid areas that have not been connected. This will go a long way in enhancing our percentage in terms of connectivity. One of the biggest challenges that we, as a committee, have really tried to fight is wiping out the diesel power but it has become a very big problem. There are cartels within the energy sector and it is hard to wipe out the owners and proprietors of this diesel power. At the end of the day, from the contribution, whatever power is sold to the national grid from the diesel power has ended up now being the high cost of energy in this country. I think it is important for us because we have, on several occasions, tried to stop the diesel power but they were saying how else can be able to… They want to use diesel power as a base for our energy generation. I think this is something that we need to deal with in this financial year. It is the elephant in the room, particularly within the Committee that we have to fight and be able to have whatever is given to the national grid from the diesel power reduced so that we can improve on the cost of energy. For us to achieve universal access to electricity throughout the country, then there are some issues that we have recommended. Under Standing Order No.216, one of the mandates of our Committee is to try and check the previous year’s budget and the implementation aspect. We have had a big problem. One of the biggest problems, and this was coming from the Executive, is that some of these MDAs did not have directors for almost over seven months. The Rural Electrification Authority (REA), a very important parastatal within the ministry that supplies electricity to rural areas did not have directors for a record nine months in one financial year. You can see how it has affected the connectivity of rural electrification. If REA was not been able to have their procurement plan approved, then there is nothing much that the management would do. We will try to look at the appointments of directors. Do we need, as Parliament, to come up with a law that if and when there is a vacancy, there must be a timeline as to when these directors should be replaced? I am saying this because by the time they got their directors in March, this year they had to be given some orientation because they are new. It then takes time for them to start working. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

It is one of the aspects that, as a Committee, we found wanting. This happened in almost three of those parastatals and it has been something that, as a Committee, we will be making recommendations within the law so that we can have directors being replaced as and when the vacancies arise. Secondly, as a Committee, we looked at the implementation of the Budget. The Controller of Budget is supposed to give us quarterly reports. Whenever we receive those reports and compare them vis-a-vis the report given by the Ministry and the semi-autonomous Government agencies to the National Treasury, they are contradictory. Sometimes you do not know which of these State departments to believe. We need to deal with some of those issues. Something that I never spoke about and is very critical to this Committee is the pending payment of deemed power of Kshs1.6 billion by Kenya Power that is supposed to be paid. In the just concluded Second Supplementary Estimates, the Committee refused this item because the taxpayer has not received value for that money. It is surprising that the same company that is being paid for that deemed power was not ready with the transmission line by the time the country was ready. This is one of the issues that we are…

Hon. Gikaria, I will give you one more minute.

(Nakuru Town East, JP)

Very well. Hon. Gikaria, you will recall that under that provision of Article 223, there are very clear circumstances under which the National Treasury will approve payments. If any expenses are expended that do not fall within those emergency lines, they will raise audit queries and there will be people who will be responsible for them. Let us have Hon. Mbiuki.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to support the Budget Estimates 2019/2020. In line with the provisions of Standing Order No.235, the Committee scrutinised the budget estimates for the MDAs under its mandate. In exercising the mandate of reviewing the budget estimates, the Committee had a total of seven sittings. The spending agencies under the purview of the Departmental Committee are the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, State Department for Wildlife and State Department for Mining. The sector delivers goods and services that are critical enablers for the realisation of the Big Four Agenda. The following projects have been earmarked as priority projects under the Big Four Agenda. Under the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, there is the Mavoko Water and Sewerage Project, Nairobi City Regeneration Programme, Naivasha Industrial Park Water Supply and Sanitation Project as well as Dongo Kundu Water Supply. In the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, there is the development of forest recharge technologies, forest plantation development The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

that is providing quality raw materials for construction and manufacturing and construction of processing units which contribute to universal healthcare, food security as well as industrialisation. In the Ministry of Mining, there is manufacturing through promotion and regulation of production of raw materials such as gypsum, limestone, iron ore, manganese, titanium, copper, salt phosphate and carbon dioxide. The sector has a total proposed allocation of Kshs88.92 billion out of which Kshs24.13 billion is Recurrent Expenditure while Kshs64.79 billion is Development Expenditure. The Committee, having scrutinised and reviewed the proposed allocation, observed that the allocations provided for some projects under the sector are not in tandem with the project requirements and targets as well as the minimal funds allocated are likely to lead to low output, missed targets as well as the appropriation of funds. Under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, there is the National Tree Planting Campaign which is a presidential directive aimed at achieving the 10 per cent forest cover by 2022. It has a proposed allocation of Kshs1 billion in the 2019/2020 Financial Year under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The Committee recommends that the Exchequer is released in a timely way to avoid missed targets especially during the rainy season. We have seen a haphazard release of the Exchequer by the National Treasury to the various MDAs. Under this critical programme of the National Tree Planting Campaign, we humbly request the National Treasury to release the funds in an extremely timely way so that this programme can be successful, especially during the rainy season because it may be pointless to release the funds when there are no rains. In addition, the Committee recommends that the National Tree Planting Campaign should not be undertaken by the Ministry headquarters and that the activity should be carried out by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) through the Community Forest Associations, the Kenya Water Towers Agency as well as the Kenya Forest Research Institute. What was initially proposed was for this money to be expended at the headquarters. As a Committee, we noted that the Ministry Headquarters has no capacity to absorb or administer these funds. Instead, out of Kshs1 billion, we recommended that the Ministry should retain Kshs100 million for co-ordination and the rest distributed to the various agencies within the Ministry. The Committee further noted that the ban on commercial plantation logging has seriously affected the A-i-A collection by the KFS. It was further noted that the aging trees with a lifespan of between 25 and 30 years are dying or wasting away in the forests rather than being sold and A-i-A collected. The Ministry needs to consider lifting the ban or the moratorium on forest logging to increase the KFS A-i-A, and to collect funds to restore the graded forest areas as well as carry out the operation within the Service rather than fully rely on the Exchequer. On this one, we found it a bit ironic because the information which was shared by the Ministry of Environment is that they have already classified various blocks within KFS where they have aged trees. It does not make sense when all these trees are rotting out there whereas the Ministry or the KFS - the State Agency - is struggling and is in need of Exchequer. The KFS desperately needs to recruit new rangers but the same has not been provided for by the Exchequer. That is why we have petitioned the Ministry Headquarters to lift the ban or the moratorium which was placed on commercial forest harvesting. The scrapping of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) fee has led to reduction in A-i-A that is collected by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). The The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Committee was informed that since the scrapping of the EIA fee, the Authority has faced serious financial difficulties and has recorded deficits of more than Kshs200 million per year. The Authority has further been declared technically insolvent by the Office of the Auditor-General over the last year. The Government should reinstate the EIA fee to allow NEMA to collect Appropriation-in-Aid (AiA) and enable the Authority to become financially self-sustaining. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, it does not make financial sense when we deprive the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) the necessary fees in form of AiA which can make it self-sustaining instead of relying on the National Treasury for funding. By the time this AiA was zero-rated by the Government, NEMA was able to collect more than Kshs1.2billion annually and they had chances of increasing it to more than Kshs1.8billion in the year 2019. What they get from the National Treasury is less than Kshs700million which cannot finance its operation. The Members of this House and the public sometimes bash NEMA because of its lack of capacity to enforce the various licences which they issue. We all need to appreciate that without adequate funding it becomes a very big challenge to them. Hence, the Committee recommends that the A-in-A should be reinstated to make NEMA financially sound.

The Committee noted that the State Corporation does not disclose A-in-A, especially under the donor-funded projects, to the ministry headquarters and subsequently to the National Treasury. This gives the impression of low absorption rate to the National Treasury which in return reduces the Budget allocation under the Supplementary Budget. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) employs different methods towards human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Over time, electric fence has not only proved to be effective but also lasting solution to human-wildlife conflict. As we speak, KWS owes Kenyans, in terms of compensation, more than Kshs15billion. This Budget has provided only Kshs500 million to the KWS and you can see the shortfall. Kshs250million has been allocated in the current Budget. We allocated an extra Kshs150million in the Committee towards this human-wildlife conflict.

We have quite a number of stalled projects in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation namely Umaa Dam and Badasa Dam, among others. I want to thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee. After a lot of plea, it has provided Kshs400million to Badasa dam, Kshs500million to Umaa Dam and Kshs1billion for Soin Koru Dam.

Chair, Hon. Mbiuki, kindly wind up in a minute.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, allow me to just mention one critical issue because quite a number of dams are financed by the Government. We have one project in the name of Siyoi Muruny in West Pokot which has so far stalled. To date, it is accumulating more than Kshs2.3million per day in terms of the idle plant. Once the Government initiates some of these projects, it should ensure that funding is done in time and it is sufficient to cover them.

After reviewing and scrutinising the Budget, the Committee re-allocated funds from non- performing projects to more competing needs. The Report submitted to the Budget and Appropriations Committee has detailed information on the additional request and re-allocation by the Committee. I want to thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee for they agreed on the various recommendations by the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

With those few remarks, I support the Motion. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Chair, Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to support the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock and its Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2019/2020.

Pursuant to Standing Order No. 216, our mandate, among others, include investigate, inquire into and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management, activities, administration, operations and estimates of the assigned ministries and departments. Under its purview, the Committee oversees five State departments: State Department for Crop Development, State Department for Livestock, State Department for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy, State Department for Irrigation and State Department for Agricultural Research.

The allocation for the Ministry is as follows: The recurrent allocation for the Ministry is Kshs3.89billion in the Financial Year 2019/2020. There is an increase of Kshs600million which is about 18.3 per cent from an allocation of Kshs3.3billion in the previous year. The increase is on account of the increased provision for the compensation of employees by Kshs30million and increased provision by Kshs637million for transfers to Government agencies, including Bukura Agricultural College by Kshs26million; Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA) by Kshs221million, Agricultural Project Coordination Unit (APCU) by Kshs11million, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) by Ksh190 million and Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK) by Kshs139million. Provision for use of goods and services has been reduced.

The development allocation to the department has been reduced by 10.8 per cent from Kshs20billion in the Financial Year 2018/2019 to Kshs17.9billion in the Financial Year 2019/2020. The reduction of Kshs2.1billion is on account of a reduction in the provision for Fertiliser Subsidy Programme from Kshs4.3billion provided in 2018 to Kshs2billion this year. The name has also been changed from ‘Fertiliser Subsidy Programme’ to ‘National Value Chain Support Programme’. The provision for Kenya Cereals Enhancement Programme has been enhanced. The State Department for Crop Development basically implements the three programmes which are; the General Administration, Planning and Support Services, Crop Development and Management, and Agribusiness and Information Management.

While we continue to probe the estimates for the Financial Year 2019/2020, the Committee observed that the State Department for Crop Development was allocated Kshs21.8 which is a reduction of 6.7 per cent from allocation of the previous year. The Department is implementing the three programmes which were aforementioned. The recurrent allocation for the Department was at Kshs3.89billion in 2019 which is an increase of Kshs600million. It is equivalent to Kshs18.3 per cent from an allocation of Kshs3.3billion in the Financial Year 2018/2019. There is a change of policy and thinking by the Executive in terms of fertiliser subsidy and the Strategic Food Reserve (SFR) maize purchase for the Financial Year 2019/2020. The Government seeks to raise money from the proceeds of the sale they will make this year of about kshs4million bags which is estimated to be about Kshs9.6billion. Kshs5billion was allocated this year to National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to purchase maize from farmers but up to November only Kshs400,000 million was used to purchase maize. So, there was a balance of Kshs3billion in the account of the SFR. That together with the proceeds from what they will sell from these current maize sales, it is estimated that NCPB will have enough money to purchase maize next year. That is why they were not provided with any money in the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2019/2020. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

There is no provision for the Strategic Food Reserve. As I have just explained, the National Cereals and Produce Board is going to self-finance the purchase of maize for 2018/2019. The provision for coffee industry revitalisation and food security of Kshs300 million, which was earlier provided by the Committee, has been removed and about Kshs3 billion has been provided for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives. Basically, this means that coffee revitalisation and food security is no longer the docket of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. It has been moved to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, where they have provided about Kshs3 billion for cherry advance and another Kshs230 million for the operations of the Coffee Taskforce. The Committee recommends that the State Department for Research be allocated a Recurrent Budget of Kshs5.56 billion up from Kshs4.9 billion in the Financial Year 2018/2019, which is an increase of Kshs580 million or 11.7 per cent. The Development Vote allocation has also been increased by Kshs319 million from Kshs475 million in 2018/2019 Financial Year to Kshs795 million. The State Department for Agriculture and Research Services is implementing a programme called ‘Agriculture Research’ and has an allocation of Kshs6.3 billion in the 2019/2020 Financial Year. The target output includes the following: Tsetse and trypanosomiasis controlled and sustained research policies rationalisations, operationalisation of liquid nitrogen plant and development of liquid nitrogen plant and enhanced capacity for semen production. There is need to enhance resource allocation to the State Department to compensate for its functions. The resources will help in completion of projects within stipulated time and improve on project and programme monitoring and evaluation.

The State Department for Livestock has been allocated Kshs6.6 billion composed of Kshs2.1 billion forRecurrentExpenditure and Kshs4.5 billion for Development Expenditure. The Recurrent Expenditure allocation for Livestock Department has been increased by Kshs260 million or 8.2 per cent, an allocation of Kshs1.95 billion in the 2018/2019 Financial Year to Kshs2.1 billion in the 2019/2020 Financial Year. The increase is on account of increased provision for compensation to employees and for use of goods and services. The Development Expenditure allocation has been increased by 6.2 per cent from an allocation of Kshs4.2 billion in the 2018/2019 Financial Year to Kshs4.5 billion in the 2019/2020 Financial Year. The increase is, therefore, to be used in funding various ongoing development projects. The increase in budgetary provision is for funding of projects which were not funded in the Financial Year 2018/2019.

The State Department for Livestock is implementing the Livestock Resources Management and Development Programme, which has five sub-programmes; the allocation for feed lot and livestock export zone, Kenya livestock insurance project, livestock diseases and pest control, promotion of leather development, smallholder dairy commercialisation project, regional pastoral livelihood resilience projects, integrated agriculture research for development and finally disease-free zones.

The Committee observed that the State Department for Livestock has been allocated Kshs6.6 billion, which comprises of Kshs2.1 billion for Recurrent Expenditure and Kshs4.55 billion for Development Expenditure. The Recurrent Expenditure allocation for the Livestock Department ….

Hon. Chairman, you will have one minute to wind up.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, on the Blue Economy, the Committee observed that there has been some significant allocation of resources The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

the capacity to absorb. Development of Blue Economy initiative was allocated Kshs1.2 billion from the Kshs435 million while exploitation of livestock resources under the Blue Economy was allocated Kshs2.5 billion compared to Kshs575 million last year. In 2019/2020 Estimates, the department has been allocated Kshs1.23 billion for development. This is three times the allocation in the previous financial year. They were not able to absorb all that money. Clearly, the Committee felt that the department lacks the capacity to utilise the allocated funds. Therefore, it moved Kshs1.25 billion to other competing areas. Those are…

Your minute is gone, Hon. Chairman. I will add you another one minute. Wind up please.

Thank you. The savings we made from the Blue Economy were re-allocated as follows: Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) Modernisation Project that is going on was allocated Kshs190 million; Disease-Free Zone at Bachuma, Kshs50 million; Development of Mau Buffer Zone, Kshs100 million; and Fall Army Worm Programme, Kshs200 million. We had allocated Kshs375 million to sugar farmers over and above the Kshs300 million that was allocated by the National Treasury. This brings it to Kshs673 million. That will settle the farmers’ debt completely. We added money where we had maximum impact as follows: Household Irrigation Water Harvesting, Kshs325 million; Food security and Crop Diversification, Kshs100 million; and the allocation to theNational Water Harvesting and Ground Water Exploitation was increased by Kshs200 million to bring it to about Kshs222 million. We also resourced the Livestock Training Institute.

Hon. Savula.

Thank you Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Budget Estimates.

I would like to start by thanking the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock for indicating that Kshs3 billion has been allocated for the purchase of maize. The NCPB is going to sell the current stock and use the Kshs3 billion to purchase the maize stock in the country. That is a good move.

Secondly, I would also like to comment on the sugar sector. They have allocated Kshs673million to pay the entire farmers’ debt. However, it is regrettable that while we are working on a restructuring programme for Kenya Airways, we are leaving a serious institution called Mumias Sugar Company. The Government of the Republic of Kenya owns 20 per cent shares in Mumias Sugar Company. It is very sad that the company has collapsed but in the current Budget Estimates no money has been allocated towards this key industry. Year in, year out, we import sugar because we do not have sugar strategic reserves. I thought the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, and the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, would consider this noble cause so that we have a sugar strategic reserve in the country and stop depending on cheap imports from Brazil and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) countries.

The Budget Estimates have not addressed the issue of unpaid claims. A supplier of Government may go to court and win a case against a ministry but the money is not reflected anywhere because the court order was awarded when the budget-making process had passed. There is need, in future, to consider setting up unpaid claims under the Attorney-General’s Office and allocate funds, so that when one wins a case or is awarded money because of supplies, they are paid through the Attorney-General’s Office. The same happens when the police harass innocent Kenyans or arrest and torture them. When such victims win awards, the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

state takes many years to compensate them. We need a special fund in the Directorate of Public Prosecutions so that we cater for such cases. Such monies must be factored in the Budget.

Lastly, it is so sad that in the Budget today, we are indicating that we have allocated enough resources for the technical training institutions. In my constituency, I have a sad affair. Money was allocated to Kivaywa Technical Training Institute. The Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya in 2014 came and launched the project but it stalled. I am forced to utilise National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) money to construct a national institution of that magnitude. The allocated amount was about Kshs100 million. I am grateful that in the Budget Estimates, they have indicated that they have allocated Kshs2.4 billion to complete the stalled Technical Training Institutes (TTIs), but I want to caution that the money should not be diverted again. You are embarrassing a whole office of the Deputy President. He launches an institution in a ground breaking ceremony in 2014 but when you go to the ground, there is nothing. Do we have two governments in this country? A government led by Uhuru and a government led by Ruto? Ruto did his work in 2014. Nothing on the ground can be seen. Let us be serious. Let the Government coordinate its affairs closely and when monies are put in the Budget, let us follow the budget-making process and implement it to the letter.

Very good, Hon. Savula. Hon. Gichimu Githinji.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to contribute. My contribution is mainly on the areas that are usually key to this country. I thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee for the work well done. I have always insisted that one of the key drivers of the Big Four Agenda is infrastructural development mainly in the areas of road development. I am happy that the Committee was able to identify that there is need to increase money in areas of expanding our roads especially of low volume seal in various parts of this country. I also insist that there are development areas in infrastructure enhancement that were covered in the previous Budget. I would like to associate myself with my colleague, Hon. Gikaria, Chair of the Departmental Committee on Energy, that under Standing Order 216, the Committee should always look at the previous Budgets, the implementation and how they can also cover part of the gaps that were left in the previous Budget.

In Kirinyaga, when the Committee visited the county for public participation, there were roads that were earmarked for improvement in the previous Budget but because of the limited resources that the country has been facing, those roads were never considered. So, it is high time those roads were considered because wananchi already gave their contributions. They indicated their need to have those roads done and they are still waiting for them. I believe these are some of the gaps that should be covered.

The other area that I am happy about in this Budget is on the issue of transformers. The Committee has indicated that there is need for rationalisation and equity in distribution of transformers in this country because they have not been distributed in a fair way. That is their observation and that is the case on the ground. So, when the Committee says that the transformers also need to be procured in a very open and transparent manner so that we can get the best quality transformers, I support that because even in my constituency of Gichugu, I have a problem of transformers getting spoilt. That is an issue that was already picked up by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and I believe there are cases already in court which involve the issue of transformers. So, these are areas that Kenya Power, Rural Electrification Authority (REA) or any other Government body that is tasked with the procurement of facilities like these should always take the best for wananchi . The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I am also happy that there is need to ensure that the TTIs are complete and they are well equipped. In fact, we have had instances where TTIs even in my constituency of Gichugu have not been fully financed to ensure completion. This is something that is touching wananchi on the ground. These are areas that we should be able to amplify when we are looking at the budget- making process not forgetting the bigger things that this country is looking at. Finally, I would also like to associate myself with the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing by saying that we should not have a road that consumes Kshs240 million covering one kilometre.

Hon. Gichimu, you only had five minutes. You will have half a minute to wind up.

I just wanted to emphasise that if Kshs240 million being spent on one kilometre was to be distributed in constituencies, Kshs6 million each, then we would have very many constituencies benefitting out of it and it will cover and help as many people as possible. I support. Thank you.

Hon. Nzengu.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to add my voice to this Budget of 2019/2020. I just want to make a few observations since I was seriously involved in the budget-making. One of the observations I want to make is that during our interrogation of the Budget, we realised that ministries like the Ministry of Environment were duplicating activities in which case, they would have one department doing tree planting and another one doing the same thing. We harmonised that into one department because we thought it was effective in implementation. Related to that is an observation that I will make on an item called ‘National Water Harvesting and Ground Water Exploitation’ which is currently funded under the Ministry of Water and Sanitation as well as the Ministry of Agriculture. In which case, I expected that the Budget and Appropriations Committee would have harmonised this item to be taken to one ministry. In particular, there is a body under the new Water Act, 2016 called the ‘National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority’. I believe this is the right body that is supposed to be undertaking this activity. At our level as departmental committees, we are not able to harmonise because it has issues that are cross-cutting in both the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock and the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. I would want to urge that the Budget and Appropriations Committee looks into that matter. Secondly, I want to thank the Budget and Appropriations Committee for seeing it fit to allocate money to Badasa and Umaa Dams. These dams have been constructed up to a certain level and left incomplete. Some are 50 per cent complete and have been left for years. I want to thank the Committee for finding some money to fund the two projects. When we went around as a Committee investigating dams in Kenya, we were really shocked that our country can lose such amounts of money where projects spend more than half of the cost and then they are left as stalled projects. Related to that is the question of Soin Koru. Soin Koru is a project that has been proposed to be done under the Government of Kenya (GoK) and its approximate value is Kshs 28 billion. Now, the Budget and Appropriations Committee allocated a total of Kshs1 billion to kickstart the project, but I have my fears. My fears are that the GoK has shown non-commitment on implementing dam projects. Right now, the project is supposed to be funded to the tune of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Kshs9 billion but every year it is being allocated Kshs1 billion and we have pending bills in excess of the amount of money that has been allocated. Finally, as I beg for an extra minute, is the question of Kenya Forest Service asking for a total of Kshs5.5 billion in recurrent expenditure. The Kenya Forest Service has aged trees that if sold or converted into timber, they should be able to raise enough amount of money in excess of Kshs5.5 billion so that they can meet the recurrent expenditure and this money that is being allocated to it can be taken to other deserving areas. I will stop there because of time. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support.

Hon. Limo.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to contribute to this important Budget of 2019/2020. The Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning had a total of 14 sittings to look at the budgets for the State departments and commissions which come under us and these include; the National Treasury, the State Department for Planning, the State Department for Devolution under the Ministry of Devolution, the Controller of Budget, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) and finally the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). The budgets were more or less the same as what was there in the last financial year. However, there were significant increments in SRC which I will state later. The National Treasury proposed a total of Kshs180 billion for the year 2019/2020 as compared to Kshs101 billion for the 2018/2019 Financial Year, but our recommendation was a reduction of Kshs4.3billion, which was allocated to some activities that in the opinion of the Committee were not urgent. It was, therefore, recommended that it be allocated to more productive areas. The State Department for Planning is carrying out a very important activity this year. As you are aware, there will be national census on 24th and 25th of August this year and this will take a sizeable amount of funding. Although we started funding in phases about three years ago, the State department was commended to be allocated Kshs53 billion compared to what was in the last financial year, that is, Kshs12.9 billion. You realise there is a significant shift. This is because of the National Government Development Constituencies Fund (NG-CDF) which in the last financial year was domiciled in the State Department for Devolution, but has since been returned to the State Department for Planning, hence the shift from Kshs12 billion to around Kshs52 billion.

Hon. Speaker, we recommended some enhancement which would strengthen the various activities being carried out under the NG-CDF given that, in the various constituencies where we come from, people in the villages are only aware about the projects done by the NG-CDF. We wonder whether these devolved units were actually only for recurrent expenditure. This is because the work done by counties is not measurable and that is a very serious crime. I wonder what in future we will show. We were also asking about the activities which are normally carried out during the devolution conferences. They normally clap for each other and yet citizens at the grassroots are not clapping. The State Department for Devolution has been allocated close to Kshs48.4 billion as compared to Kshs38 billion last year. The reason is that the NG-CDF has now been moved to the State Department for Planning as earlier stated.

We observed that though this department has been given the responsibility of distributing relief food for Kenyans, they have not been funded. They used to be funded directly in the past. We observed that, this time round, they have not been funded directly. They were depending on the National Treasury as they would get funding from the Contingency Fund.

However, we recommended that because there are Kenyans who depend on relief food given the areas they come from... In fact, there are Kenyans who go to the DCCs to wait for The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

food. So, for the DCC to justify or for the State Department for Devolution to justify that they need food, it becomes a long process if it is not budgeted under the State Department for Devolution directly. In case there will be need to have more food, especially when there is serious drought, then they can apply to be given more money under the Contingency Fund. Therefore, we had recommended an additional Kshs852 million for relief food to the State Department for Devolution.

The Commission on Revenue Allocation is one that is in charge of recommending the sharing of revenue between the two levels of Government, that is, the national Government and the county governments. This Commission was recommended to get Kshs456 million compared to Kshs413 million last year. This is because of the kind of aggressive work they are doing. They are working on new policies for the third formula on sharing of revenue and so we recommended an additional Kshs12.5 million.

Hon. Limo, you still have four minutes to come to the conclusion of your delivery. I will, therefore, direct that the next time the matter is set down for consideration, you will be the first one to finish up your four minutes. Hon. Members, the time being 7.00 p.m., this House stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 12th June 2019, at 9.30 a.m.

The House rose at 7.00 p.m.

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