Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro/FILEKiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has proposed sweeping budget cuts aimed at easing the high cost of living, saying the government could save about Sh100 billion from the expenditure side if tough austerity measures are adopted.
Nyoro said he would work with the Parliamentary Budget Office to consolidate proposals that could significantly reduce public spending without affecting key development priorities.
He singled out foreign travel as one of the major areas for cuts, calling for a near-total reduction across all arms of government.
“One area that I'm targeting is that we have to decimate almost completely foreign travel. And foreign travel here I mean for everyone, members of Parliament, the executive and the judiciary,” he said.
Nyoro further argued that in the prevailing economic conditions, all institutions should “take haircuts” in spending, including reductions in allocations to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which he suggested could be reduced by about Sh2 billion.
He also pointed to operational and maintenance (O&M) expenditure as another area where significant savings could be achieved, saying some government offices have seen sharp increases in budget allocations.
Nyoro further called on senior state institutions, including State House, to lead by example in implementing austerity measures adding that some budget lines had recorded increases of more than 25 per cent in the current financial year.
He maintained that he had already tabulated proposals showing potential savings of over Sh100 billion, insisting that the adjustments would come strictly from the expenditure side rather than development programmes.
Nyoro said he was ready to present detailed figures to the committee if required, stressing that the aim was to ease fiscal pressure and address rising living costs.
MP Nyoro has recently presented proposals to the National Assembly, which the legislator says could lower fuel prices, particularly diesel, by at least Sh54 per litre.
The proposals include reducing the Road Maintenance Levy Fund charge by Sh7 per litre through revocation of the 2024 levy order that increased the levy from Sh18 to Sh25 per litre.
Nyoro has also proposed amending the VAT Act to remove petroleum products from taxable supplies and classify them as VAT-exempt, effectively reducing VAT on fuel from the current eight per cent to zero.
Other proposals include reducing the profit margins of fuel importers and distributors by Sh4 per litre and providing an additional Sh5 billion fuel subsidy targeted exclusively at diesel.
“These amendments are short-term measures aimed at reducing the inflationary and sticky economic effects arising from the current high fuel prices,” Nyoro said in the proposals submitted to Parliament.
