President William Ruto of Kenya on Wednesday said he won’t sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes, a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead by security operatives.
It was the biggest assault on Kenya’s government in decades. The president said the people have spoken.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 Finance Bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said.
Once a Bill is before Parliament, it can’t just lapse until it’s withdrawn.
The president is expected to return it to Parliament, with a memorandum on why he will not sign it into law.
After that, he is expected to ask the majority leader Kimani Ichungwa’h to formally withdraw it.
Mr Ruto further said his administration has worked hard and consistently so that the price of essential commodities like ‘unga’ has dropped from Sh240 to Sh100, Kenya Star reported.
“We reduced the cost of fertiliser from Sh7,500 to Sh2,500. The Shilling has also strengthened against the Dollar,” he said.
He said Kenya is on course to detangle itself from the debt burden that has hung around its neck for decades.
In a televised address to the nation from the State House, the President said for every Sh100 the government collects in taxes, Sh61 goes into paying off the country’s debt.
“We have paid Kenya’s Eurobond debt that was borrowed in 2014 of 2 billion dollars that has been hanging around our neck. We paid the last instalment of $500 million last week,” Ruto said.
Ruto said that given the sustained commitment to rid itself of the debt burden, the country’s debt obligation is today much less and more sustainable.
State House sources earlier told the Star that the Head of state has also declined to assent to the Bill.
