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{
    "id": 846665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/846665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 192,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1835,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Kimani Ichung'Wah",
        "slug": "anthony-kimani-ichungwah"
    },
    "content": "Njomo has brought to increase the capitalisation of commercial banks by 2021 to ensure that we have sufficiently capitalised banks that can give affordable credit to Kenyans. I, therefore, request Members to support this proposal. The other issue I want to raise is one that Kenyans have probably been looking upon this House to save them from that. That is the issue of charging Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum fuel. Maybe, it is lost on Kenyans that this matter is not in this Finance Bill. Therefore, we may not deal with it within the provisions of this Finance Bill. However, it is a matter that, again, as Hon. Chris Wamalwa said, in 2013 or 2014, when we passed that VAT Act to introduce VAT on fuel, it was envisaged that four or five years down the line, this country would have gone into commercial production of oil. Therefore, the base price of fuel would be lower, even if we charged VAT. However, that is not the case today. Mine would be to ask the National Treasury to, probably, reconsider that provision or defer implementation of that particular provision to allow us to go into commercial production of oil. When the base prices come down, we can charge VAT on petroleum fuel. As a House, we may not have occasion to deal with the particular Bill in order to save Kenyans in this case. With regard to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), we must be clear that if its officers fail this country in terms of collection of revenues, KRA is to blame. Talking about fighting corruption, I wish we had taken the lifestyle audit exercise beyond procurement and finance officers to include revenue collection officers within KRA. The people who are building and buying apartments all over town are very junior KRA officers. That is the root of all corruption in the Government. I can see I only have a minute remaining. I would have moved on to issues of betting. I intend to bring amendments to the law on betting. Betting is an evil that this country must deal with. All advertisements in the print media, digital platforms and other media are about fake winners and winners that…"
}