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{
    "id": 1498185,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498185/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 345,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "However, this Bill defines that the National Assembly has an oversight role in terms of policy on revenue raising measures. It also establishes the process whereby county governments may exercise taxation because it is a money matter, and money matters have their residence in this House. Secondly, this Bill further regulates the exercise by county governments of their power to impose taxes, levies and duties. County governments have power to do that, but this House has the power to regulate the exercise. Why do I say that this is a very important Bill? I will give a very good example. Sometimes back, the President chaired the Port Users Association meeting in Mombasa Port, which brought together all the port users in Mombasa County. I had the privilege to be in that meeting, together with Hon. Bady Bady and Hon. Ichung’wah. The port users, mostly the business people, including those from Uganda, Rwanda and other countries, informed us that if a container is in Mombasa and you transport it, once it leaves the Port, Mombasa County will charge a levy. When it gets to Taita Taveta, the county will also charge a levy. The same container will also be charged once it gets to Kajiado County. By the time it is crossing to Uganda, the trader has lost so much such that it defeats the purpose of having a port in the country because there is no regulation on how to charge levies. Each county decides the amount of money to charge. They informed us that it was too expensive to use Mombasa Port and so, they would rather shift to Dar-es-Salaam Port and other ports in the region because counties were charging a lot of money. If that container passes through 10 counties, then you have a problem. I like the way Hon. Ichung’wah has put it. Sometimes, counties may impose levies in a manner that jeopardises the country's progress. I would like you to hear me on this. The house construction industry is very important and the raw materials come from certain counties. Therefore, if those counties just charge levies, then they may make the building industry very expensive. For example, my county of Kilifi is known for having shellac and clinker. If a county government charges high levies on clinker, shellac, quarry dust and all those other things, what then happens to the price of cement in this country? It goes up!"
}