Raila tamed? Eyes on Azimio leader as protests against tax proposals ignored
By ERIC BONUKE
Azimio leader Raila Odinga faces a testing week ahead as Opposition MPs strategise how to shoot down tax proposals in the Finance Bill 2024 which will make life for ordinary citizens even more difficult.
Raila has already registered his opposition to the Bill, terming retrogressive and insensitive to the plight of the poor in the country and whose impacts will be worse than Finance Bill 2023.
“The Bill is a regressive taxation proposal that goes ruthlessly after the poor. Should it be ratified, low-income people will be hit with taxes on multiple fronts and will end up paying more than people with higher incomes. It is obvious that tax on basic necessities such as food, cooking oil and money transfer disproportionately hurt the poorest of the poor,” he said in a statement on June 7.
“It must be remembered that the tax measures put in place last year and which led to violent protests have subjected Kenyans to a great deal of trauma but bore no fruit. The intended purpose of the 2023 tax measures was to help the government raise more revenue,” he added.
However, it remains to be seen how far he can go this time in rallying Kenyans to oppose the proposals in the Finance Bill 2024. Since announcing his candidature for the African Union Commission chairman’s position, for which the government is campaigning for him, the ODM leader has mellowed down and rarely criticises President William Ruto’s government.
The role has largely been left to fellow Azimio principals led by Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka who yesterday called a press conference to criticise the budget presented in Parliament by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u.
The National Treasury largely ignored public opinion on its tax proposals save for a proposed raise in excise duty on mobile money transactions.
Kalonzo pointed out misplaced allocations totalling over Sh1 trillion in budget allocations and called on civil society groups and the international community to side with Kenyans in opposing the Finance Bill 2024 for failing to address the plight of Kenyans.
“We also urge concerned citizens both at home and abroad to help in condemning the Kenya Kwanza regime’s blatant disregard for the public good,” he added.
The only time Raila has hit out at the government is when he criticised plans to demolish buildings standing on riparian land in Nairobi. He threatened to lead protests against it but that is as far as he went even as the demolitions went ahead unabated.
This despite denying there is a deal between him and President Ruto that led to the government backing his bid for the AUC job.
Sources indicated that senior State officials reached out to Raila asking him to stop his continued criticism of the government or lose its support for the AUC bid.
Azimio MPs have been asked to ensure they are present in the National Assembly from Tuesday when the Finance and Economic Planning Committee is scheduled to table its report after conducting public participation which was dominated by opposition to proposals in the Bill such as the 2.5 per cent motor vehicle tax and VAT on financial services and even basic goods such as bread.
“If the report does not reach our expectations, then as Azimio, we are going to mobilise to reject that bill but this time around, we shall do something different,” National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi said on Thursday.
“First, All MPs in the National Assembly have been put on notice that they have to be physically present at the time of the debate and voting on the Finance Bill. As a matter of fact, we have asked our members not to engage in any unnecessary travel outside the country,” he added.
But beyond opposing the Bill in the House where it will easily sail through given Kenya Kwanza’s majority, what else can Azimio do in the absence of Raila, the master of the trenches who has kept successive presidents on their toes for nearly three decades? That is the million dollar question.