Will legislators rise above self-interests in Budget review?

President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulates newlyweds, Murang'a Senator Irungu Kangata and his wife Mary Wambui during their wedding ceremony at the St. Ann Gathinja Catholic Church in Murang'a. Looking on is Hon. Isaac Mwaura and his wife Mukami.

Self-interest is likely to take centre stage at the National Assembly as MPs struggle to save Sh18 billion that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s memorandum proposed to cut from the budget as he tackled the 16 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol.

While rejecting the Finance Bill that had suspended the implementation of tax on fuel, President Kenyatta returned a memo to the House detailing how Sh52 billion expenditure cuts would be effected.

In the memo to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, the President took away Sh6 billion from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Sh5 billion allocation from the National Assembly and the Senate, Sh2 billion from affirmative action funds and part of the money for the roads damaged by floods and rationalisation of the recurrent expenditure.

The Sunday Standard learned that the President’s party and that of opposition chief Raila Odinga would have separate parliamentary group meetings as they seek to whip members ahead of the crucial vote after days of outcry from Kenyans.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale said they will hold a Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting on Tuesday morning to take a position on the President’s reservations of the contentious Finance Bill.

His minority counterpart John Mbadi also said the National Super Alliance (Nasa) will meet on the same day to take a stand on the matter.

MPs have earlier warned that they will marshal numbers to veto the President’s decision should he reject the Bill to cushion the public from high cost of living. They threatened to rally 246 members to shoot down the reservations or amend the Bill.

Yesterday, Duale said they will rally members to back the President’s reservations, which he promised to make public on Tuesday in the House and urged Kenyans to ignore the proposed budget cuts already in the public domain.

“I will formally table the proposed budget cuts in the supplementary estimates 2018 during the special sitting in the afternoon,” said Duale.

“This week, I will also table the Supplementary Budget, 2018. We will lobby to have a bipartisan approach to the issue so that we unanimously pass changes amicably in the House.”

Mbadi said the Nasa meeting will be held on Tuesday at County Hall between 8am and 10am, however the venue has since changed to Orange House.

“Our meeting has been shifted to Orange House from 9am. I will send notices and urge all MPs to turn up for the meeting where we will take a firm position,” said Mbadi.

Unacceptable

“As a minority leader, I have a stand which the coalition can override or support. It is still unacceptable to put the eight per cent levy on petroleum products. The President is not reducing the tax from 16 per cent to eight but increasing from zero to eight.”

He cautioned that the effect of the 16 per cent after the period lapsed on August 30 is sending the wrong signals to the economy.

“The costs of products shot over 50 per cent. Others went to 100 per cent. This is the reaction to the economy. I am opposed to the tax proposed by the President. I hope Jubilee side will support us,” said the Suba South MP.

Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi lauded President Kenyatta for rejecting the Finance Bill and the proposed amendments and called on MPs to support the proposal.

Mudavadi said the move was that of a statesman’s response Kenyans have been expecting.

“He has heard Kenyans and done better than Parliament in the reduction of VAT to 8 per cent. He even bettered my proposed reduction to either 10 per cent or 12 per cent,” he said.

But Mbadi also faulted the President on the proposed setting up of the housing development fund, saying it will force employers to recover costs from elsewhere, such as benefits like medical schemes and others.

“This proposal will hit employees really hard and slow down development,” he warned. He told the Executive to stop creating a crisis by sensationalising the matter.

“The amount lost in tax collection does not warrant the kind of panic in the economy,” said Mbadi. The government hopes to raise over Sh52 billion from various government agencies, parastatals and ministries, including the county governments and Parliament.

Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo said President Uhuru’s memo on 16 per cent VAT was a subterfuge and diversionary.

“We need to reject it and discuss other amelioratory mechanisms later. Let each MP stand to be counted,” said Amolo.

Nyando MP Jared Okello was adamant that nothing has changed, arguing the MPs’ position remains the same.

“We will marshal enough numbers to reject the memo. We will not heed to efforts to force members to accept the President’s memorandum,” said Okello.

He warned that scaling down local and foreign travel by Sh5 billion, the CDF and funds for roads destroyed by floods from Sh30 billion to Sh8 billion will greatly affect Parliament’s operations.

“The mob psychology will not work. We will not accept anything short of what we had passed in the Bill,” said Okello.

But Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria said it is laudable that the President had gone halfway and also brought the supplementary budget.

“It is a blessing in disguise. On Tuesday we will look at the finances and the estimates at the same time,” said Kuria.

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