Kenya: Odinga Urges Azimio MPs to Shoot Down Finance Bill

By Sharon Resian

Nairobi — Azimio la Umoja Coalition leader Raila Odinga has urged his Members in Parliament to vote against the Finance Bill.

Odinga said that the proposed taxes that will be levied following its passage with burden Kenyans further.

He has threatened to mobilize street protests should the bill pass in Parliament.

"This bill is a disease that cannot be cured, and it is an economic sabotage if [president] Ruto insists on this bill the country will go into full recession. And we have agreed that Azimio MPs vote against any tax rises," he said.

"Should Ruto overrun the national assembly we will regroup and overrun him in a wider national assembly of the whole people of Kenya," he told a news conference Wednesday.

Raila instead wants President Ruto to withdraw the Bill and apologize to Kenyans for the anxiety it has created.

He added that instead of taxing Kenyans, the president should stop the duplication of county roles and responsibilities, adopt a zero-based budgeting approach by not using the previous budget as a baseline, and stop the budget from growing but instead reduce it to levels the nation can afford.

"Instead of imposing new taxes, seal the loopholes that lead to loss of revenue, stop non-essential government expenditures including the appointment of Chief Administrative Secretaries, reduce the size of government and cut non-essential domestic and international travel," he added.

This article originally appeared on Capital FM.