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"id": 245052,
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"speaker_name": "Capt. Nakitare",
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"legal_name": "Davis Wafula Nakitare",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. While I stand to support this Motion, I have various misgivings on the proposed tax measures. A lot has been said about sugar-cane, sugar prices and sugar levy. However, the burden of proof now comes to the small-scale farmer, who feeds this country. The fuel levy will affect maize production, which will affect the consumer in the urban areas. The Minister should have looked at the aspect of food production first before he went into taxation. It is agreeable that the country would want to stand on its own feet without the donors' money. Mr. Chairman, Sir, the cost of diesel has escalated because of waiver of the Road Licence. Tractors do not move on the road. They are all busy ploughing the land for planting of sugar-cane or maize, which is a cash crop as well as fodder. In areas where maize is grown, the cost of fuel will hurt the producers as well as the consumers. Who is more important in this aspect? Is it the consumer or the producer? If the producer is more important, then why do we have to overburden a farmer who uses a tractor, which runs on diesel? To produce a bag of maize will be very difficult. Mr. Chairman, Sir, we have talked about the prices of sugar. We have talked about importation of sugar vis-a-vis the locally produced sugar. But we have not even talked about the price of maize. Maize farming is undertaken on a large scale in Kenya. This is the food crop that sustains this country. It is going to be very expensive. That is going to expose our country to importation of the necessary food that will have to sustain this country. Mr. Chairman, Sir, it is a good idea to waive duty on napkins and diapers. But are we promoting over-population or are we supposed to be talking about family planning? I thought we should, at this time, focus on a one-family-three-children policy, so that we can afford to look after these children throughout their lives, as opposed to having 12 children because napkins, diapers and soaps are free. Kenya is now at crossroads. Mr. Chairman, Sir, it is important to understand that Kenya is heavily taxed. In fact, Kenyans have a huge taxation burden. We are over-taxed. If you compare the level of taxation in Kenya with the level of taxation in developed countries, you will realise that Kenyans are over-burdened. Mr. Chairman, Sir, I do not understand why the Minister chose to zero-rate unnecessary commodities and tax the necessary ones. I do not understand why he left out agricultural sustenance from tax exemption and included luxurious items in that exemption. Who benefits from tax relief? It is the well-to-do people. What benefits do Jua Kali artisans and small-scale farmers get after paying taxes? They neither get tax relief nor agricultural subsidies from the Government. So, we should look at taxes in broad ways and come to a conclusion. The Government has waived tax on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), but how many people use LPG in this country? We depended on kerosene in school or at home doing preps in the night. If we make kerosene unaffordable, we are making education even more expensive. Children in the rural areas will not do their school homework because their parents will not afford to buy kerosene. This is preposterous when it comes to the welfare of our people. The proposed tax measures relating to Excise Duty, Value Added Tax, Income Tax and other Miscellaneous Taxes are based on the lifestyle of modern man in towns and cities. They will have a big negative effect on the rural population. Mr. Chairman, Sir, therefore, I besiege the Minister for Finance to go back to the drawing board before this Motion is exhausted, and ensure that this Budget reflects Kenyans' needs. If he does not do that, he will be killing our economy rather than improving it. 1792 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 4, 2006 If we do not reduce taxation in the food production area, we should expect to import food at about US$4 billion to feed the 33 million people in this country, and yet the Minister has zero-rated certain commodities because he thinks that those commodities are more important than fuel and agricultural equipment. We have to look into these taxation measures critically, because they are controversial. It is true that we have to raise revenue, but we do not have to extract milk from stone. Forcing the farmer to pay Kshs3.20 per litre of diesel in respect of fuel levy is like trying to extract milk from a stone. Right now, diesel is selling at Kshs75 per litre. The control of fuel prices has been left in the hands of suppliers. Farmers are at the mercy of fuel suppliers who rocket fuel prices every 48 hours, yet the Government is quiet about it. I do not think that is viable. We must exhaust debate on this Motion by examining what will benefit the rural poor population, school-going children, the elderly and the retirees, because they will all be affected in terms of transport. Market places and hospitals will also be affected and will not be able to meet their basic requirements. With those remarks, I feel that the Budget was good, although it has left a vacuum."
}