Ruto chairs Kenya Kwanza PG over Finance Bill

President William Ruto on Tuesday chaired a crucial meeting of the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group(PG) at State House ahead of the consideration of the Finance Bill, 2024.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and top parliamentary leaders also attended the meeting at State House.

The president convened the session to whip MPs to support the Finance Bill after some of them threatened to shoot down his tax proposals.

The Departmental Committee on Finance and Planning is on Tuesday expected to table its final report on the Bill for Second Reading after days of public hearings.

MPs will debate the report and have the power to amend the part or whole of the report when they go through every clause in the Third Reading Stage.

The Finance Bill, 2024 has triggered a storm in the country with leaders and Kenyan calling on MPs to reject some of the punitive tax measures that could hurt ordinary people.

The President's meeting was seen as a last-ditch effort to woo lawmakers to support the Bill amid reports that his deputy was whipping his allies to reject the Bill.

The DP has come under siege from some of the President's allies who have accused him of fomenting tribal hatred through his One Shilling, One Vote mantra.

The State House meeting comes hours after it emerged that the Finance Committee could have decided to do away with some of the controversial tax proposals.

Removing Bread from the list of zero-rated commodities, imposition of 25 per cent exercise duty on crude edible and refined oils, Motor vehicle tax at 2.5 per cent of the value of the vehicle, eco-levy at Sh150 per kilogram and import declaration Fee at 3 per cent were some of the contentious provisions in the Bill.

But the Finance Committee chaired by Molo MP Kimani Kuria wants the proposed exercise duty on vegetable oils reduced from Sh25 per cent to five per cent.

The committee concluded its report writing in Naivasha on Monday evening where it had retreated after undertaking three weeks of public participation on the Bill and received 500 memoranda.

President Ruto recently urged MPs to pass the 2024/25 national budget, saying several road projects that stalled during the previous administration have been factored in.

Speaking during the Akorino Church National Conference in Nakuru on Sunday, the President told MPs not to make the mistake of shooting down the budget as it will affect the planned revival of the roads.

"We had some many road projects that we started before 2021 but stalled because of lack of money. Last year we said we need to sort the economic mess,'' he said.

Ruto insisted that the county's economy is now stable after spending nearly 20 months reconstructing the government.

"I want to ask MP, the issues are now coming to you in Parliament help us because in that budget we have allocated money for all roads in the country that stalled," Ruto said.

"All the roads that stalled like the Mau Mau Road and many others here in Naruku are this budget; we want to revive them using this budget.''