- Anti-riot police were on the ready to counter their shenanigans, complete with horses to give chase should warnings to back off fall on deaf years.
- As highly expected, the youthful mob defied prompting police to lob teargas.
Youthful protesters have been lauded even by MPs for their reliance on tech to mobilise themselves for the anti-Finance Bill protests but from the look of things, they still have a trick or two up their sleeves. https://shorturl.at/pfz4g
Image: SCREENGRAB
Youthful protesters have been lauded even by MPs for their reliance on tech to mobilise themselves for the anti-Finance Bill protests but from the look of things, they still have a trick or two up their sleeves.
During Thursday’s protests, they replicated what they did on Tuesday and showed up in their numbers propelled by nothing but sheer determination to ensure their dissenting voice against passage of the Bill was heard.
But as expected, anti-riot police were ready to counter their shenanigans, complete with horses to give chase should warnings to back off from restricted areas like Parliament buildings fall on deaf ears.
As highly expected, the youthful mob defied prompting police to lob teargas.
Unbeknownst to them, a young protester came fully prepared with a knapsack sprayer and was busy spaying fellow protesters with water in their faces to wash off the burning chemicals of the tear gas from their eyes.
Round and round he went on spraying frenzy as the group belted the popular ‘Unioshe nitakase, niwe mweupe kabisa’ gospel tune.
With restored clear vision, they resumed protests and surged forward.
Inside Parliament, MPs took turns debating the merits and demerits of the Finance Bill, 2024, with some pointing out that they knew they were being watched and had been warned via SMS by Gen Zs that voting ‘Yes’ would be tantamount to signing their political obituaries.
“You have three minutes, don’t talk as if you have 10 minutes,” Speaker Moses Wetang’ula would interject every time a member’s microphone would go mute upon exhaustion of the allocated time.
Aware that he would not be able to articulate his points within the three minutes, the chair of the National Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committee Ndindi Nyoro begged for a longer time.
“I will add you two more minutes,” Wetang’ula said.
Nyoro told MPs that the National Treasury has proposed expenditure cuts in the 2024/25 Budget should they fail to pass the Finance Bill as is.
He said if the status quo remains and the Bill is passed as proposed by the Finance Committee of the House, there won’t be any cuts as there would be no amendments to the Appropriations Bill.
“However, Hon Speaker it is important for members to note that in case there is a downfall in terms of the revenues by the proposed Sh200 billion that was to be raised in the Finance Bill, then the national government, the Treasury and the Appropriation Committee is also prepared for that scenario,” he said.
He pointed out that should the Bill fail or pass with amendments, ongoing road projects would receive a Sh15.1 billion funding cut while the Political Parties Fund would be slashed by Sh900 million.
Operations under the Office of the President would lose Sh451 million, State House (Sh500m); Security (Sh7.75bn); ongoing TVETS and TTIs projects (Sh800m), NGCDF (Sh15bn) and HELB Sh3.2 billion.
“Hon Speaker, the JSS teachers, the 46,000 of them by letting this Bill pass will be given jobs under permanent and pensionable [terms]. But if by the wisdom of this House, by not giving the National Treasury the power for more revenue-raising measures Mr Speaker, all that will disappear,” he warned.
“Hon Speaker, if we don’t give the National Treasury the power for revenue raising measures, it means, the people will be voting against the confirmation of the 46,000 interns, and the (MPs) will have ample time explaining to them how they voted against them getting permanent jobs.”
Thursday's protests were organised countrywide.