Githunguri Member of Parliament, Gathoni Wamuchomba, advised President William Ruto's administration on Monday to reconsider its proposal to increase the Road Maintenance Levy.
The government had proposed raising the levy from Ksh18 per litre of fuel to Ksh25 after public opposition led to the dropping of the motor vehicle tax included in the now-defunct Finance Bill 2024.
In response, the Ministry of Transport initiated a public participation exercise in June, scheduled to be completed by July 8, 2024.
Wamuchomba called on the government to halt this exercise, stating that the current political climate in the country could not endure the imposition of another bill.
"In the spirit of concessions, the process of public participation to amend section 3 of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund Act so as to increase fuel Levies on petroleum Fuels as advertised by the Kenya Roads Board under The Ministry of Roads and Transport should be halted," she stated.
"The public mood is not right to propose any increase of fuel levies. We must listen to what Kenyans are saying now."
"The executive seems to be blatantly adamant about the pressing economic issues that are affecting people’s livelihoods. In such a crisis, we must be deliberate in looking for peace not adding to the jitters," she added.
Road Maintenance Levy is a charge imposed on all petroleum fuels imported to Kenya for home use.
In a notice, the Kipchumba Murkomen-led Ministry announced that in-house public participation will be conducted on July 8 across nine boardrooms in every region.
In Nairobi, the exercise will be held on the 8th floor of Transcom House which is the Ministry of Roads headquarters.
In May, Wamuchomba termed the motor vehicle tax, which would see motorists part with 2.5 per cent value of their cars annually, as punitive and retrogressive.
The Githunguri lawmaker, who is allied to the ruling UDA, also voted no to the Finance Bill 2024 after revealing that it is punitive.
