Wycliffe Oparanya distances himself from proposed tax on chicken

Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.

By Francis Ontomwa

Kakamega, Kenya: Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has distanced himself from the controversial Finance Bill 2013 saying he is not aware of the contentious issues in it.

Oparanya has now pushed responsibility to the county assembly, arguing that the fate of the Bill lies squarely with the house.

He said this as the Bill continues to elicit sharp reactions from several quarters, with others vowing to oppose it in court.

Speaking at Lugari Primary School during a funeral service at the weekend, Oparanya said the provision to levy tax on the dead and hens was beyond him.

“At this level, things rest with the county assembly. There is nothing I can do. Once the Bill reaches me, I will give it scrutiny and should I be convinced that it is good for the people, I will append my signature,” he said.

Drama erupted earlier on as supporters of Oparanya attempted to frogmarch ODM National Youth League Chairman Rashid Mohammed for poking holes in the Bill.

According to Rashid, Oparanya’s office had resorted to intimidating those opposed to the Bill in public.

Rashid claimed he was being targeted for organising massive demonstrations against the Bill in Mumias last week.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula went on record asking Oparanya to consider recalling the Bill for review to resolve the controversies.

Go to court

Savula vowed to go to court to challenge the Bill if passed into law.

“I will not sit back and watch the poor burdened. There are pitfalls in the Bill and they must be resolved and on this, I will stand firm,” said Savula.

The MP warned that leaders from the county would plot Oparanya’s impeachment through the county assembly if he assented to the Bill with punitive taxes.

Oparanya said that his government had allocated Sh100 million for construction of roads in Lugari constituency this financial year.

He said that he was ready to work with all leaders in the county to better the lives of residents.

Funyula lawmaker Paul Otuoma also attended the occasion.