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{
    "id": 250430,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/250430/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 201,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Tarus",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Local Government",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 315,
        "legal_name": "Stephen Kipkiyeny Tarus",
        "slug": "stephen-tarus"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Motion. I have read the Motion and I have seen the interest to have tax reductions on kerosene, petrol and diesel. I would like to oppose the Motion. We recognise that the source of revenue is taxation, particularly from petroleum products. If this Motion is implemented, we will see a reduction from the revenue base by over Kshs5 billion. Taking into consideration the need to fast- track the development of this country and build a self-reliant economy, we need to think twice about the considerations of this Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need revenue to address the issues of poverty. In the past, we have relied so much on donor funds. Sometimes we have even factored into our annual Budgets donor funds which have sometimes not been forthcoming. I would to advocate that we should lead this country into self-reliance. We need to improve on the management of our resources. That is why I would be very reluctant at this stage to advocate for tax reductions. We have known that when the Government reduces taxes, hardly does the common man benefit. You will realise that prices do not go down when taxes are reduced and, therefore, the multinational companies remain with the money. With the introduction of the free primary school education, the budget of the Ministry of Education is running at over Kshs70 billion. Like it happens in Germany, Kenyans are requesting to have free secondary school and university education. We cannot meet all these demands if we do not have enough resources. Kenyans are requesting us to consider reducing fees in secondary schools and possibly take responsibility for tuition in secondary schools. We need revenue to do that. With regard to health care, we have a long way to go. The health care burden that the Government needs to bear is very high. We should improve on tax administration and sensitise Kenyans to pay tax, so that we can improve on service delivery. One of the ways in which costs can be reduced is by maintaining our infrastructure. We should tarmack our roads. This will not only reduce the price of fuel, but also the maintenance cost. We need enough revenue to reduce the cost of transport. We also need to initiate income generating programmes amongst the poor. For the Government to be able to address poverty, it needs enough revenue. For us to address the development challenges of this country, we need to improve on our tax collection and May 3, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 867 management. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, everyday it is our concern that the Government should implement programmes to ensure that there is security in the country. Without sufficient revenue, this will be just a dream. Therefore, without taking much time, I oppose this Motion."
}