President Ruto has pleaded with MPs to approve the contentious Finance Bill 2023 so that he can raise money to help the nation’s economy.
Speaking on Sunday in Kakamega, President Ruto claimed that the country’s difficult economic situation was caused by the previous administration’s borrowing of Sh9 trillion in debt.
The President urged the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition MPs to defy their party leaders and support the bill with their Kenya Kwanza colleagues while speaking at a prayer service and fundraiser at the ACK Christ the King Cathedral in Kakamega County.
President Ruto stated: “Some political parties are writing letters to MPs instructing them not to support the Finance Bill (referring to the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Party). While you are reading the letters, I would like to ask if you have read any letters from people who voted for you.”
Finance Bill
He was speaking as the Finance Bill, which passed its second reading in Parliament last week, is set to be amended by MPs on Tuesday at the committee stage.
The President made an impassioned plea to MPs to pass the Bill in its current form, and he urged voters not to threaten their elected officials with a vote against the proposed tax plan.
“Our plan is to increase local production against increased imports. MPs will be in Parliament on Tuesday. The simple thing to do is to vote in favour of the Finance Bill,” said President Ruto, who noted that it was unfortunate that some lawmakers stayed away from the House on Tuesday last week when the Bill came up for debate.
He clarified that his administration is pursuing a three-pronged strategy for economic growth, which includes bilateral agreements with partners for development like Germany, Canada, and the US to create one million jobs for Kenyan youths who will then reinvest an annual income of Sh4 billion into the nation.
President Ruto stated that his government is also focusing on digital jobs and has begun the process of establishing county agglomerations and industrial parks to engage in value addition, agro-processing, and job creation.
While warning that the opposition’s threats to mobilise their supporters for mass action will not grow the economy, President Ruto said he was emulating former President Mwai Kibaki’s plan that coined the slogan “Kulipa ushuru ni kujitegemea (Pay taxes for self-reliance)”.
“We have a debt of about Sh9 trillion and Kenya is in danger of being auctioned off. I have said I will not continue with the culture of borrowing again.”
The bill was defended by the president, who stated that it is intended to discourage the importation of products that can be found locally in order to contribute to the country’s economic growth.
President Ruto said his government was seeking to tax the importation of fish to boost the earnings of local fishermen.
The president also said that taxing imported sugar, cement, and other building materials will help protect local manufacturers from unfair competition and ensure economic growth and job creation.
“Kenya spends Sh100 billion every year importing cooking oil that can be produced locally. Together with the counties, we want to move in this direction. On the sugar issue, I will soon table a proposal in Parliament to write off the Sh60 billion debt our five millers are struggling with. I urge MPs to support it. We will not privatise any mills.
Housing Plan
Concerning the contentious housing plan, which seeks to impose a 1.5% tax on workers, President Ruto stated that he was borrowing the plan from Singapore and Malaysia, claiming that the two Asian countries were able to grow their economies after implementing the programme.
The President went on to say that his administration was eager to turn around the health sector by hiring 100,000 community health promoters to provide services at the village level in order to reduce the burden in this critical sector.
Dr. Ruto’s accompanying Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, urged Kenyans not to see the tax plan as a Dr. Ruto affair, but as a collective plan to ensure home-grown solutions to the country’s challenges.
“Let us feel a sense of national responsibility.” The President is doing everything in his power. Kenya’s problems affect all of us, not just the President. “The taxes are not for Ruto; they are for job creation,” Mr Mudavadi explained.