The National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot continued to defend the decision by a majority of Parliamentarians to support the Finance Bill 2024, saying the Bill is good for the country’s development.
Speaking at Nairegie Enkare Redeemed Gospel Church in Narok East, where he attended a church fundraiser Sunday, Ichung’wah applauded all the Members of Parliament (MP) who voted ‘Yes’ for the bill to move to the next reading.
Ichung’wah said the government will use the Bill to get funds for development, adding, “All these monies that will be used for development come from this Finance Bill; money for bursaries, school feeding programmes, power connectivity, construction of roads, social health care, and the provision of water, among other needs.
He said that the Finance Bill 2024 will encourage local manufacturing and help young, unemployed Kenyans get jobs.
Other leaders present were area MP Ken Aramat, Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, former Narok governor Samuel Tunai, and local MCAs.
Senator Cheruiyot assured young Kenyans dubbed Gen Z that Kenya is a democratic country and their voices will be heard.
Cheruiyot, however, called on those misleading other Kenyans on the Finance Bill to stop the disinformation, maintaining the Bill had good things for the development of the country.
Tongoyo, who is also the chair of the National Security Committee in the National Assembly, echoed similar sentiments, claiming the Finance Bill would help the government collect more revenue to finance her budget.
“We cannot keep borrowing to finance our budget; we must raise our own revenue and finance our budget,” stressed Tongoyo.
He said the government has just read a budget of Sh3.9 trillion, and the Finance Bill had to be introduced in the National Assembly in order to finance the same.
Tongoyo said the budget will see the employment of 46,000 Junior Secondary School intern teachers, of whom a majority are from the Gen Z group.
The host MP, Ken Aramat, also said that he supported the finance bill because it addressed many issues on development, giving an example of the ongoing construction of Suswa and Ntulele modern markets.
“I voted yes to the Finance Bill because all the centres in Narok East need to have standard and modern markets. Also, Narok East needs to have tarmac roads, and it has been included in this bill,” added Aramat.
Aramat said that the budget for the National Government Constituencies Development Fund has also been increased by an extra Sh30 million in the 2024–2025 budget.
By John Kaleke
