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{
"id": 1254306,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1254306/?format=api",
"text_counter": 59,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Likoni, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Mishi Mboko",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. As I said from the onset, I strongly oppose this Bill. I want to speak to the increased taxation on fuel levy. In my view, if you increase fuel levy, the cost of production and transportation will go high. This increase will also affect agriculture, which depends on machinery that uses diesel and petrol as power. As you are aware, the cost of living is very high. This has burdened Kenyans. Right now, a packet of u nga is about Ksh250. If this Bill passes by bad luck, then this will go beyond Ksh250, and that will mean Kenyans will not be able to afford a plate of food. I do not know whether Kenyans will go back to the concept of fasting the way the Shakahola victims have been doing because they will not afford food. Hon. Speaker, there is the issue of the turnover tax. Previously, it used to be around Ksh1,000,000. But it has now been reduced to Ksh500,000. If you divide by 365 days, then it means that if you are making a sale of about Ksh1,370 per day, then you are going to pay a tax of 3 per cent, and those are the hustlers, the mama mboga, bodaboda operators and mama mahamris . All those people do not have money. They are broke, poor and yet, they are being told to give that kind of tax. On the issue of housing, this should be voluntary. We need to consider many Kenyans, especially the civil servants. Let us look at our humble teachers, police officers, Kenya Defence Forces service men and other civil servants who have already taken mortgages from other financial institutions. Others have even taken loans from various banks and yet, they are forced to pay a fund for housing. In my view, it should not be mandatory. Too many questions have been raised on this issue of housing. For instance, if a couple are both civil servants, will they be charged 3 per cent? Are two houses a priority for them? They might just need one house, but since they are both civil servants, they will pay that tax. Another question is this: For somebody who has a few years to retirement - about five or 10 years - and they pay that taxation for that period, what will happen? Will they get a house? If not, where will the money go? Will they get that money back? Will they earn interest on the money? There are many questions that Kenyans have. We need to have been told about it before including it in this Bill. Hon. Speaker, there is a saying in Kiswahili that, mtu hujikuna afikapo . We have proposed a big Budget, but can we chew what we cannot swallow? Let us move gradually because Rome was not built in a day. There is a lot of wastage and corruption. Let us seal the loopholes, wastage and corruption, and do away with the vote-heads which are not a priority. I have not said that they are not important, but they are not a priority. For instance, in the Budget, some offices have been allocated a lot of funds and yet, if you look at their functions and roles, you will find that they are not a priority. Our priority as a country is to reduce the cost of living for Kenyans. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}