President William Ruto now says he gave into withdrawing the Finance Bill 2024 because the people of Kenya said they did not want it.
Speaking during an X-Space engagement with Kenyans, Ruto said the Finance Bill was marred with "falsehood and propaganda", denying that there was a section on increasing land rates and rents.
"Let me tell you, there is no single sentence in the Finance Bill that speaks to land rents and land issues," he said on Friday.
He also opposed that there were tax rates making it difficult for cancer patients.
"Let me tell you that in fact in this Finance Bill we had put Sh2 million to pay for the people who have cancer, diabetes and hypertension because under our Universal Health Programme," the President said.
He added that in the same bill, there were interventions that would create more jobs.
"We had said there is no need to import pampers, furniture from all manner of places when there are enough factories in Kenya to manufacture these products, " he said.
He explained that these would have provided employment, build Kenya and protected Kenyan industries.
Ruto reiterated that there may have been a problem with communication, leading to the rejection of the Finance Bill, 2024.
"I admit that maybe we didn't do as much communication as we should have and that is a regret I have admitted. But I am here to listen," he said.
On June 26, Ruto said he will not sign the highly contentious Finance Bill 2024, which had sparked mass protests across the country resulting in at least 23 reported deaths.
"Having reflected on the continuing conversation regarding the content of the Finance Bill 2024, and listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede, and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill," Ruto said during a televised address.
