Machakos Religious leaders fault the NADCO report

Machakos,

Sunday, December 3, 2023

KNA by Anne Kangero

Religious leaders in Machakos have faulted the report of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) noting that it was not inclusive.

The religious leaders who comprised representatives from the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), met to deliberate the report in partnership with the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Machakos Civil Society representatives.

Led by Dr. Edward Nzinga, the NCCK Chair Machakos who spoke at the Katoloni Seminary in Machakos town, the religious leaders said that they are concerned that the NADCO report lacked inclusion of citizens’ interests.

Nzinga said that while they recognize the importance of the discussions for the sake of the country’s stability and progress, he added it is discouraging that there was limited representation of the diverse concerns from the general public.

“Kenyan citizens are vital stakeholders in the democratic process and their interests are varied and it is crucial that any bipartisan initiative seeks to bridge the gap between political elites and the broader population to ensure the outcome of the talks resonates with the day to day realities faced by ordinary Kenyans,” said Nzinga.

He said that even though there were public participation meetings in different counties, the citizens were not sensitized enough to know what the meeting was about or why they were being called.

The Machakos NCCK chair pointed out that with regard to high level taxation, they recommend a comprehensive review of the current taxation system, with a focus on identifying and eliminating unnecessary taxes.

He said that a simplified structure will ease the compliance burden on businesses and citizens and will also contribute to an equitable distribution of the tax burden among citizens.

Courtesy; KNA