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{
    "id": 1441139,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1441139/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 215,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Manyatta, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Gitonga Mukunji",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to draw the attention of the House and the public to Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya, read together with Article 118 on national values and principles of governance and public access to information and public participation. The conversation around the Finance Bill has given this House and leaders in various parastatals, including the Treasury, a wake-up call. There is need to engage Kenyans in the process of developing the Finance Bill. The good and bad ideas in this Finance Bill should not have reached this House without engaging the public from the onset. We have made it even more difficult for the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, my brother, Hon. Kimani Kuria. He has had it so rough for the past few weeks because he had to explain the thoughts of the National Treasury from the point of his logic. I call upon the Ministry to change tactics. It is the right time to think about how we can empower and permanently entrench issues related to public participation and engagement in our laws. Moving forward, we need to rethink laws concerning public participation so that the public can be with us from the onset of developing Bills. That way, we will not leave out good ideas and cause a backlash from Kenyans due to a lack of public participation. The punitive clauses that are found in this Bill, such as the motor vehicle tax, cooking oil tax, and tax on airtime, should not have been included. It is important we learn from this. As a country, we need to know and show Kenyans that we are cutting costs."
}