Legislators to amend PFM Act, raise debt ceiling
Zachary Ochuodho @zachuodho
The National Assembly will amend the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act to institute a Sh9 trillion debt ceiling as opposed to the current scenario where the ceiling is pegged on gross domestic product projections.
According to a document, “Unpacking of the Budget Policy Statement and Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy 2020”, Members of Parliament said the national government needs to borrow wisely to reduce repayment burdens on future generations.
“The House observed that there is a need to strike an optimal balance between external and domestic borrowing to protect the country from external shocks while ensuring credit is still available to the private sector,” the statement authored by the Parliamentary Budget Office said.
In a resolution aimed at addressing the emerging policy issues raised in the Budget Policy Statement, MPs said the government should achieve a balanced budget which can eventually run a surplus to ensure long term debt sustainability.
Target revenue
“Treasury should reduce exemptions even as Kenya Revenue Authority increases efforts to raise targeted revenue,” the statement said
“The House called on the Courts to expedite cases related to withholding tax on betting and gaming in order to unlock revenue to reduce the budget deficit.
Members further urged the government to reinvigorate the Privatisation Commission with a view of disposing-off non-strategic parastatals,” he said.
However, on the pending bills, the House resolved to revive the Pending Bills Closing Committee, which will carry out an audit of all existing unpaid bills to verify whether they were procured through the right process, and to determine whether they are payable, as well as the best structure of payment.
“The House sets the Budget ceiling for Parliament at Sh39.501 billion, judiciary at Sh18.937 billion, while the executive was given a Budget ceiling of Sh1.77 trillion,” reads the document.
