President Ruto speaks on 'bribing' MPs Sh1 million to pass finance bill

By Peter Ochieng

Members of Parliament (MPs) are currently holed up in the National Assembly, where they are debating the Finance Bill, 2023.

The bill which proposes measures to raise money for funding of the 2023/2024 budget, is in it's third reading.

MPs are expected to debate and vote on each clause of the bill.

President William Ruto speaking during launch of the school feeding programme in Nairobi on Tuesday, denied claims of bribing legislatures Sh1 million each, as a bait for them to pass the bill.

He said MPs are grown up and intelligent people who know what they are supposed to do for betterment of lives of Kenyans.

According to the Head of State, the malicious allegations are being spread by his detractors.

"There are rumours that MPs were paid Sh1 million to support the Finance Bill. These are lies. An intelligent person doesn't need to be bribed to do the right thing. So I want to ask those propagating lies that we don't want any sideshows. We want to move on as a country," he said.

Nairobi County Women Representative Esther Passaris who is among opposition MPs supporting the bill, says it is the gateway to Kenyas financial stability.

"Kenyans know that life will be difficult but after suffering for a short while, our country will move forward. We must be self-reliant, we must pay our taxes and build Kenya. That's why I'm commending the government for looking for money and working to get us out of debt."

The bill proposes among others, a 1.5 per cent housing levy and 16 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products, from the current 8 per cent.