Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria drafts bill demanding county and national governments to pay suppliers within 90 days.

Gatundu South MP has drafted a bill in Parliament demanding both the national and county govenments to pay suppliers within 90 days of delivery.

Below is is notice of motion.....

A PUBLIC APPEAL TO MY COLLEAGUES IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Dear Honorable Members,

As you are aware, I have drafted amendments to the Public Procurement & Disposal ACT through the Statute Law (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill Number 2 of 2018 currently at the committee of the whole House.

In his wisdom, the Speaker of the National Assembly The Hon JB Muturi has referred the Bill to the Budget & Appropriations Committee tomorrow, Thursday 25th April, 2019 in line with Article 114 of the Constitution that guides Money Bills. Once the Budget Committee hopefully dispenses with the proposed Amendments, they will come back for your consideration and decision next week.

Honorable Members, you are aware that the National And County Governments owe suppliers and contractors, your constituents up to Ksh 300 Billion. This 3% of the GDP is an interest free Loan from poor Kenyans to rich governments. It attracts no interest. It is not reported as part of the National debt. It is therefore an economic distortion

Honourable Members, you are aware that your constituents are committing suicides. They are being auctioned. They are on constant medication. They are victims of a government that has refused to live within its means

Honourable Members, it is true that this Amendment will have implications. If the government does not put its house in order it could end up paying up to Ksh 40 Billion in interest to your constituents. And since the financial instruments will be part of the national debt, it will affect the Budget Deficit. This is not good news. But honourable Members consider these minor inconveniences against the backdrop of what these Amendments will do to your constituents and our economy

Firstly, any of your constituents who supply National and County Governments will be paid within 90 days and 30 days for women, youth and persons living with disability

Secondly, in case the national or County Government defaults to pay within those timelines, the procuring entity will be obligated to issue a 4 year promissory note that can be presented to any bank, that will accrue interest payable by the procuring entity and hopefully that will be traded on the secondary market thus invigorating our sleepy capital markets.

Thirdly, that the promissory notes will be accounted for, for the first time in history as part of the National Debt thus presenting a true and fair account of the assets and liabilities of the government of Kenya

Fourthly and most important, these amendments will lead to a significant release of liquidity into the market. This will lead to private sector growth not seen in the recent past. As we look to also remedy the credit squeeze effects of the interest rates capping, the cash flows and credit scores of our constituents will generally improve

Finally members, these amendments are not about us nor about government. They are about our people and our economy

I beg you to stand with Kenya and pass the proposed amendments

At the same time, I beseech the members of the Senate, notwithstanding their right to call the bill to the Senate given it has a secondary impact on county governments, to waive this right and allow the bill once passed by the National Assembly to be enacted to avoid more suicides, more auctions and more ailments among our constituents

God bless this House
God bless Kenya

Hon Moses Kuria, HSC, MP
Member for Gatundu South
Presidential Candidate 2022