Inside Plan For MPs To Vote On Finance Bill- Moses Wetangula

National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, on Saturday, June 10 revealed that Members of Parliament (MP) will vote for or against the Finance Bill 2023 on a 'clause by clause' basis and not the whole document.

In a statement, the speaker revealed that the lawmakers had the legal mandate to push for amendments on clauses that were strongly opposed by Kenyans and would warrant changes instead of rejecting the bill in total.

He further called for MPs to have sober discussions on the matter to avoid leaning on their political sides in order to best serve their constituents.

Speaker Moses Wetangula during a past session at the National Assembly. /FILE

"I asked MPs opposed to the Finance Bill to stop misleading the public on the content of the document and push for amendments of the clauses they feel were not good for Kenyans.

"The Constitution gives MPs powers to push for amendments on clauses that they single out as unfriendly to citizens and that is what I urge them to do instead of decampaigning the document in public meetings in villages. I reminded the legislators that they will have an opportunity to vote for the Bill "clause by clause"," he stated.

The speaker further added that the clause by clause voting system will grant MPs a chance to make a decision on the Finance Bill 2023 when it will be tabled in the House.

He added that the MPs sit in Committees where they have an opportunity to thoroughly scrutinise the Bill and make changes on clauses that they disagree with.

"I assured wananchi that President William Ruto was also concerned about the high cost of living and he was doing his best to cushion Kenyans from suffering.

"I called for unity of purpose among MPs from Western region irrespective of the political party affiliation. I pledged to support the Western MPs caucus that has brought together all the MPs from the region for the sake of development and prosperity of the region," he added.

Wetangula made the remarks after he led 17 MPs in a funds drive in aid of Lwandeti DEB secondary school in Lugari constituency. Over Ksh14 million was raised to support infrastructural development of the institution.

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha and Governor Kakamega County Fernandes Barasa as well as his deputy Ayub Savula were among guests who honoured the invitation by area MP Nabii Nabwera to help raise funds for the school.

The National Assembly’s Finance and Planning Committee is slated to table the Finance Bill 2023 on Tuesday, June 13, in Parliament.

Some of the contentious issues on the Finance Bill had mainly focused on the mandatory 3 per cent housing levy contribution from employees and employers, the 15 per cent digital tax for content creators and the mandatory payment of withholding tax to KRA within 24 hours, which led to the bill being opposed entierely by the Azimio la Umoja coalition.