Ruto Hails Kenyans' Ruthless Opposition Of Finance Bill

President William Ruto on Thursday, June 1 expressed admiration at Kenyans' spirited commitment to opposing the controversial Finance Bill 2023, even though he risks being inflicted a major blow in his agenda for the country.

In his Madaraka Day speech at Moi Stadium, Embu, the Head of State remarked that the Finance Bill had generated a positive and intense discourse across the country in a manner rarely seen in the tenets of Kenya's democracy in the modern generation.

He believed that the discourse provided a paradigm shift in terms of social debate and that more important issues prevailed beyond the 2022 general elections.

"Our public discourse and political discussion and the agenda of social debate has changed for good. Substantive policy issues continue to define the national conversation well beyond the election.

President William Ruto inspects a Guard of Honour during Madaraka Day Celebration in Embu on Thursday, June 1, 2023. /PCS

"At the moment, there is a robust debate on the Finance Bill taking place everywhere in this country: Church, social places, formal and informal workplaces, all media platforms and busy markets, as well as in urban and rural gatherings," he stated.

The Head of State hailed Kenyans for setting precedence very few countries can match in terms of the national debate on matters of finance and that there was no sign of ethnicity threatening to divide the country among the discussions.

Ruto expressed how he felt more challenged than ever, especially in the demanding era of Generation Z, noting that today's Kenyans are keeping him on his toes.

"We are truly a trailblazing nation. Many countries struggle in vain to generate a national debate on public financing, taxation or other policy issues. In Kenya, we have easily sustained intense discourse on the Finance Bill and the Affordable Housing Policy for several weeks now.

"The debate has remained issue-oriented, and there is no hint of divisive ethnic rhetoric at all. The cost of living is keeping all leaders, including myself, awake, and this is precisely as it should be," he added.

On the Housing Fund, Ruto recognised that Kenyans needed a better explanation of the proposed measures regarding the housing levy as captured in the Bill before being subjected to unnecessary tax cuts to a program they have no idea about.

He noted that the heated discussions on the Housing Fund exposed them to the power of a stakeholder republic, with his statement hinting at amendments to some of the proposals to create a win-win scenario for both his government and Kenyans as a whole.

"Superficially, the intense national debate on housing is not about whether it is a tax or a contribution. The attention sharply focused on the housing contributions is an implicit expression of ownership. People desire better information and stronger assurances regarding the custody, security, investment and return on their money.

"More encouragingly, the discourse on public finances and the Housing Fund has opened our eyes to our emergence as a Stakeholder Republic. Kenyans today, more than ever, are fully involved citizens in shaping public policies and making institutions accountable for the manner in which they run national affairs. This is the vision of Madaraka expressed in the first article of our Constitution: All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya," he reckoned.

The proposed Finance Bill 2023 entered its last day for public participation on Wednesday, May 31, with Viral Tea's Marvin Chege leading a spirited group of more than 50 individuals in presenting their views on the Finance Bill at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

He shot down the proposal to include digital content creators in the tax bracket by having a 15 per cent withholding tax on payments related to the monetization of digital content, warning that this would strain the finances of content creators as well as digital native media houses (both startups and leaders) and endanger their sources of earning a living.