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"id": 1268611,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
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"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
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"content": "generated a lot of heat. As you are aware, the Finance Act of 2023 has been suspended by the courts and we are waiting for the ruling. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is no way a government, be it the national Government or the county governments can raise revenue without taxation. As I second this Bill, there are two things that are sure in life; tax and death. I have seen our colleagues saying that they do not want to pay taxes because apparently, the budget must be funded by taxation. Taxes must be raised and that is the principle of public finance. When you read Article 299 of the Constitution 2010, there is a general selective amnesia by the Minority side to imagine and say that His Excellency President Ruto, the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya, is the one who is introducing tax. For the benefit of the audience, the esteemed guests in your Gallery, when you want to fund a budget, you must tax, and the budget-making process involves passing what we call the Finance Bill. Article 209 of the Constitution of Kenya gives you the legal basis to raise revenue to finance the Budget. So, it is not the making of the President, it is not the making of Government, it is the making of the Constitution. I wish my brothers and sisters would be in the House, but because they have their reasons as to why they have walked out, they should be telling Kenyans the truth that the Budget must be financed through the Finance Act. I am disappointed by the courts of law; I have been told in some quarters that I cannot criticize the Judiciary. We can. There is the principles under Article 10 of the Constitution, on the rule of law, participation of the people, democracy. Parliament is criticized daily even as we talk. The Executive is criticized daily, both the national Government and county governments. Equally, the Judiciary must also be criticized because they are not law unto themselves and they are not God. Therefore, when you find a whole Judge suspending a Finance Act, you ask yourself the question, how will the Government raise revenue to pay their salaries even for the Judiciary? Many people have accused me saying that I am attacking the Judiciary. I am one of the biggest defenders of the Judiciary. In the last Session when I was the chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (JLAC). I was one of the chairpersons in the history of this Parliament to call out the Executive then, to increase allocation to the Judiciary. A few weeks ago I brought a Statement to ask the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) why they were taking away benefits from the magistrates and judges in this country. So, when they do wrong, we must call them out. When they do the right thing, we must congratulate them. How do you suspend a Finance Act? How will the Government be run? How will the Judiciary be run? How will Parliament be run? As a country, we are aware that they did suspend the creation of Cabinet Administrative Secretaries (CAS). We are waiting for the court to rule. You and I know that we have several friends who were appointed as CAS. They have suspended everything. They have even suspended the Finance Act. Sometimes we must be very careful, especially the Judiciary when issuing court orders. If we are not careful, it will reach a point where court orders are just being issued The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}