Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says the Finance Bill 2023 is unstoppable.
The DP in dismissing voices opposed to the bill said the government’s taxation plan is informed by the need to develop the nation, an endeavor that cannot be deterred.
Gachagua was the guest of honor at a funds drive at St Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Kitui, where leaders spoke up on the Finance Bill 2023 that is scheduled for debate next week.
The deputy president dismissed threats by Azimio One Kenya leaders that they would defeat the bill, saying the Opposition lacks requisite numbers in Parliament to stop it.
Rigathi said Kenya Kwanza’s taxation plan was premised on the decision to reduce external borrowing while maintaining the development agenda.
He said the country had been pushed to its financial limits by excess debts in the previous regime.
“We pushed the country to the limit. We cannot go that route anymore. When you are in a hole, you cannot keep digging, we must get out of the financial hole we are in,” said the DP.
Gachagua stated the best way for the country to move forward was through payment of taxes to build a pool of adequate resources for its recurrent and development expenditure.
“If we don’t collect taxes, we will not be able to roll out the development projects we have lined up across the country,” the DP asserted.
According to the deputy president, stalled projects like the Umma dam in Kitui would be completed in the next financial year to enhance agriculture in semi-arid area.
The Deputy President also asked the Ukambani region leaders to rally behind the Government and reject those leading the people astray through retrogressive politics.
The DP also promised a facelift for the institution, terming it a premier school in the region and undertook to buy a bus for the school, following a request by the students.
The DP was accompanied by Cabinet secretaries Ezekiel Machogu (Education) and Peninah Malonza (Tourism), the area MP Dr Makali Muli and a number of MPs from the region and elsewhere.
