Garissa Township MP Aden Duale has termed the 2021-22 budget as the worst to be experienced by Kenyans.
Duale said that neither the President nor the Treasury CS should be blamed for the ambitious Sh3.63 trillion budget.
He made his remarks on Thursday afternoon in an interview with KTN News before the Budget reading.
The MP said that the 2010 Constitution architecture and the PFM Act gave the Committee of Budget in the House the powers of budget making and that they are the ones to take the responsibility.
“Those who blame the president and the National Treasury either for revenue, expenditure and debt perspective, it is like blaming the mortuary attendants when someone dies of malaria,” Duale said.
He added that up to date, the country’s debt is at Sh.8.3 trillion, and the government has paid the commitment fee of up to Sh1.3 trillion extra loan, bringing the total debts to Sh11 trillion.
“Every Sh100 that we collect, Sh66 goes to servicing of debts.”
Duale has asked the government to facilitate the Kenya Revenue Authority in order to ensure that it meets and surpasses its target.
According to Duale, KRA has been pleading with the government for years to give it more resources in terms of employing more people and putting more systems in place.
“For KRA to reach their target and surpass the target, you must oil their system and give them more resources.”
Duale said that the Treasury is the cause of soaring debts, where they borrow debts without clearing the existing ones first.
“The moment the government competes with the private sector in borrowing from the domestic financial institutions, then the private sector and Kenyans will be more disadvantaged."
According to the CS Uukur Yatani, the Sh3.63 trillion budget will strike a balance between stimulating economic recovery and responding to the health challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year’s budget will be the second to be read under the Covid-19 pandemic, which has heavily affected the country’s economy.
The CS has proposed to invest Sh26.6 billion on the Post-Covid Economic Stimulus Programme (PC-ESP) and Sh135.3 billion on the President’s Big Four Agenda.
