Moses Wetangula Leads MPs in Opposing CS Rotich's Proposed Budget

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula on Monday declared the beginning of an Opposition initiative to reject the budget read by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich

The initiative spearheaded by Ford-Kenya party will involve Members of Parliament from the Amani National Congress (ANC) as well as Wiper party. 

According to the Opposition leaders, the budget cannot be passed as read by the Treasury CS due to what they identified as disadvantages for the common mwananchi.

Ford-Kenya deputy party leader Boni Khalwale spoke to Kenyans.co.ke explaining the rationale behind the stance taken by the party leader.

[caption caption="File image of Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula with ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi"][/caption]

"We urge members of parliament to oppose the budget in its current format because, if passed, it will only serve to oppress the man at the bottom.

"The budget read in parliament will raise the cost of food, fuel and transportation for the Kenyan consumer leading to a higher cost of living," Khalwale explained.

He further elaborated that the proposed budget would put consumers under the mercy of manufacturers.

"The new budget policy will give manufacturers the power to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) directly on their products meaning that at the end of the day the unsuspecting consumer will have to bear the cost. This also gives the manufacturer the power to exploit the situation," he pointed out.

Citing that the budget policy failed to outline plainly how funds will be raised to meet the deficit, Mr Khalwale lamented that the government intended to increase taxes.

"The CS did not mention how the deficit in the budget will be raised and as is, the country is Ksh5 Trillion deep in debt. That can only mean two things, either the government intends to impose higher taxation or go back into heavy borrowing which is unacceptable," he stated.

[caption caption="File image of Ford-Kenya party leaders Moses Wetangula and Boni Khalwale during a past presser"][/caption]

  • .