Partnership for Change
From Dictatorial Impunity to
Democratic Accountability in Kenya
http://marsgroupkenya/partnershipforchange
The partnership for change has been on the front-line to make Kenyans understand their budget and the budget making process. Our leaders in Parliament when the Minister of Finance was reading and presenting the supplementary budget agreed to have it passed without blinking an eye to the details. This shows the importance of also educating members of Parliament on the process so that they do not once again pass a fictitious budget in the future.
We are however dismayed and disappointed even after the damning revelation by the Partnership for change on the 9.6 Billion shillings that was going to be spent on fictitious items. The very serious issues have been reduced to political commentary by the MPs. The issues as raised by the Partnership for change on the budget should not be politicised.
The budgeting principles go beyond the Minister of Finance, it is about the public servants who have worked tirelessly for this nation, it is about the women and children who need food on their tables, it is about the men and youth who are looking for a livelihood, it is about the poor Kenyans, all Kenyans and how the services of the government reach them.
It should be noted that the supplementary budget estimates were approved in one record afternoon and no member of parliament opposed them.
P4C researched the Supplementary budget and raised key questions as follows:
Where is the authority for Variation of what Parliament approved last year?
Where is the authority for the reallocations?
Even though all variations are supposed to be accompanied by explanatory notes why is it that nowhere is there an explanatory note for over 200 items for Ksh 9.6 billion?
The Minister of Finance rubbished the intention of the Partnership for Change in asking the questions. He did not even consult his officers on the issues raised. He later admitted that there could have been an error after realising things were thick following the Speakers ruling that the matter be referred to the committee.
Kenyans are enraged that the Minister could go ahead to read a budget that does not add up. We would like to see a forensic audit on what transpired at treasury while the Government needs to own up to the very big mistake it committed through inaccurate documents of account as prepared by the Ministry of
Finance technocrats, do these documents meet proper accounting standards?
Parliament needs to deal with this issue very FIRMLY as Kenyans can no longer afford to have their taxes embezzled through dubious means. The problem here is much more bigger than an individual in the name of the
minister.
Let Kenyans be very watchful as we await to see the financial estimates for the year 2009/2010 presented. Should we allow the same people who are misleading Kenya to continue being in office at the Ministry of Finance? Are they competent enough to handle our financial resources? Are members of Parliament justified not to handle this matter with urgency of a criminal offence?
Our Leaders MUST be accountable to us.
The Financial Budget should serve Kenyans not a few individuals. Its about all of us. We are very keen to know what the findings of the joint parliamentary committees will present tomorrow.
Emmanuel Dennis
National Coordinator
Partnership for Change
Showing posts with label budgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budgets. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Secret to Less Anxiety Over Business Cash-flow
To reap any significant earnings from your enterprise, you need to plan your business spending and a budget is crucial to business success.
Before mapping out spending, it is important to start with a forecast of expected incomes. This can be in terms of sales revenues, consultancy fees etc. To develop your forecast, first look at your past business income history (for instance sales revenue of the last year). This gives you an indication of what you can reasonably expect in the next year in terms of income.
It is also vital to take to take into account the factors that influence how much money your enterprise makes. For instance, in a clothing store, sales of jerseys will not be as high in the hottest month of the year. In case you don't have such records, start today by recording your sales and expenditure daily. At the end of the month, use this to forecast your expenditures for the next month, and so on. This process also allows you to get a clearer picture of what products or services are popular amongst your clients.
After looking at projected income, you need to look at several factors in the process that culminates in the received income. This is where you take into account materials required for production and inventory levels. At this point, you also need to forecast your labour needs based on expected production and how much you are expected to pay them.
Don't forget to add important costs such as marketing, rent, and the cost of upgrading or purchasing new equipment. If you borrowed money to start up or expand your business, you also need to include this amount as income and outline how you intend to repay the debt as a projected expense.
You can now complete your budget in the form of a budgeted income statement which consolidates all revenue and expense estimates you have made. There are a large number of free budgeting tools online that can take you through the budgeting process.
Budgeting is vital because if one sticks to it, the looming threat of financial loss diminishes. Once you have a track record of sales and expenditures, you are better placed to know when the low seasons in your business occur and budgeting helps you, to take steps to sail through them relatively unscathed.
Before mapping out spending, it is important to start with a forecast of expected incomes. This can be in terms of sales revenues, consultancy fees etc. To develop your forecast, first look at your past business income history (for instance sales revenue of the last year). This gives you an indication of what you can reasonably expect in the next year in terms of income.
It is also vital to take to take into account the factors that influence how much money your enterprise makes. For instance, in a clothing store, sales of jerseys will not be as high in the hottest month of the year. In case you don't have such records, start today by recording your sales and expenditure daily. At the end of the month, use this to forecast your expenditures for the next month, and so on. This process also allows you to get a clearer picture of what products or services are popular amongst your clients.
After looking at projected income, you need to look at several factors in the process that culminates in the received income. This is where you take into account materials required for production and inventory levels. At this point, you also need to forecast your labour needs based on expected production and how much you are expected to pay them.
Don't forget to add important costs such as marketing, rent, and the cost of upgrading or purchasing new equipment. If you borrowed money to start up or expand your business, you also need to include this amount as income and outline how you intend to repay the debt as a projected expense.
You can now complete your budget in the form of a budgeted income statement which consolidates all revenue and expense estimates you have made. There are a large number of free budgeting tools online that can take you through the budgeting process.
Budgeting is vital because if one sticks to it, the looming threat of financial loss diminishes. Once you have a track record of sales and expenditures, you are better placed to know when the low seasons in your business occur and budgeting helps you, to take steps to sail through them relatively unscathed.
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