By James Wafula in Nairobi.
The NGO council of Kenya has called for a broad consensus in the proposed 2023-2024 Finance Bill that seeks to impose a mandatory 3 percent tax on all income earners in the public sector to go towards housing for low income groups and 16 percent VAT on fuel saying there is need to scale down on public wastage that derails development funding.
In a press statement ahead of discussions on the bill to be tabled in parliament and endorsed by President William Ruto, council chairman Stephen Kipchumba Cheboi said in a statement today Saturday May 13 2023 that there was need for differing parties to reach a middle ground and strike a consensus that will move the country forward.
Cheboi said the council fully appreciates where the Kenya Kwanza government was coming from having inherited a battered economy rocked by galloping inflation, but added that the government is yet to freeze unnecessary expenditure ordered by President Ruto on being sworn in as Kenya’s 5th President September 13 2022.
“As a council we appreciate the difficulties the government faces paying both the national government and devolved government state bureaucrats who draw huge sums in salaries and allowances worsened by public wastage.”
Cheboi said the country had continued to pay for radiation and cancer scanning equipment in public hospitals when the machines have no one to operate them saying this needs to stop. There are other cases he said of “white elephants” draining scarce public resources that could go into uplifting the living standards of wananchi.
Cheboi told the opposition to appreciate that the government must raise funds through taxes to pay them bloat salaries and allowances yet they create no real wealth for the country and some of them have never spoken or even tabled a single motion.
Cheboi said the council was in the process of revamping its campaign of “follow your MP” as a way of auditing the performance of MPs, senators and MCA’s through regular upraisals based on opinion polling.
“We must hold our legislators to account for the huge income they take home. This country can not afford obscene wages to people who in parliament to sleep and are only awoken to pick their seating allowance!” Cheboi fumed■
