No pain, no gain, MP Waluke says on Finance Bill 2023

Sirisia MP John Waluke has said Kenyans must fall in agony for the economy to be steady.

Waluke was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday during the Finance Bill debate where he urged his fellow members of Parliament to vote in for the Bill.

"To stabilise the economy, people must feel pain and this is the pain we're going to realise before the economy stabilises because our economy had gone down," Waluke said.

"I urge all members of this House to support this Bill so that we bring our economy back to where it's supposed to be."

MPs voted to pass the Bill at the second reading stage with 176 lawmakers out of 257 casting their ballot in its favour while 81 opposed it. 

The voting followed an intense debate by legislators over the Bill's merits and demerits. 

Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie said that Kenya has an obligation to pay it's debts since it has reached its debt limit and it cannot borrow anymore.

"We have an obligation on recurrent expenditure. We have an obligation on development. The social goods that our people require in the constituencies," Kiarie said.

He said the decision made on the Finance Bill 2023 is hard but Kenyans will be proud of it many years down the line.

"Even those opposing it today will want to associate with the success that will arise from the benefits that will accrue from the Finance Bill that we're just about to pass," Kiarie said.

Among the key amendments to the Bill is the proposed 15 per cent for Digital Content Creators which has been reviewed to 5 per cent.

Also, the proposed three per cent housing levy has been reduced to 1.5 per cent in the new amendments.

The Bill now moves to the committee of the whole House where members will have a chance to push through the amendments they want.

The Committee will consider the Bill clause by clause and take a vote on each of the clauses.