ANC leader Mudavadi asks opposition to take watchdog role seriously

Mudavadi asks opposition to check on the government's actions (Courtesy)

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi wants opposition leaders to wake up to the reality that their role is to check the government.

“We have seen policies that are harmful to the people of Kenya being passed. We have seen Cabinet Secretaries addressing MPs without any respect. In a sense we see the level of impunity in a government that needs to be checked,” said the former Vice President in a press statement.

Mudavadi also called upon parliament to exercise its oversight authority and impeach wayward Cabinet Secretaries, adding that there were cabinet secretaries who are driving the country into heavy debt due to their engagement in corrupt deals.

“Article 152 does not require the two-thirds majority to impeach a Cabinet Secretary who is misleading the country. To impeach a CS who is failing, you only need a majority,” he said.

He added that some Cabinet Secretaries are disrespectful when they are called upon to appear before Parliamentary committees.

“If indeed MPs are serious about expressing their concerns in the taxation levels pushed through parliament, it is time to start impeaching some of the errant Cabinet Secretaries,” said Mudavadi.

Mudavadi’s statement comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Finance Bill 2018 into law.

The new law now means that besides the 8 percent fuel tax, salaried workers will give a fraction of their pay to the Government to finance a housing project, mobile phone users will incur additional duty and bank transfer costs.

This, the government says will help to fill the gap that was created by rise in expenditure and shrinking revenues.