Wajir South MP urges government solve poverty problems before taxing

Wajir South Member of Parliament Mohamed Adow has stated that there is a need for the government to first solve the issue of poverty among Kenyans before taxing them.

He believes this will secure Kenyans from the pool of poverty that Kenyans are facing.

Speaking during an interview with Citizen tv on Monday,Adow said poverty in the country has become dire and possible measures are required.

MP has highlighted poverty as a hindrance to economic prosperity due to low income.

"Kenya is in trouble economically,it is finding it very hard to navigate through the economic downtime that we are facing,"he explained.

To solve this issue,he has urged the government to speak to Kenyans about the best ways of recovering the economy.

He has further claimed that the loans that the government took are not mostly used to deal with challenges facing Kenyans that is food security and therefore he urged the government to prioritise Kenyans basic needs in the budget.

On the same issue of loans,he has advised the government to engage the public on how money has been spent.

By solving this problem of poverty,he said people will contribute to the revenue willingly.

"It is not just taxing the people,plug holes and move on,no,it is taxing the people more but also plug the holes so that sometimes somewhere in the near future the people can be relieved of this huge tax burden and let us face it,"Adow urged.

Further,he has warned the government to act steadily closing all loopholes that are the major causes of poverty or else Kenyans are going to be forced to dig deeper into their pockets.

He has suggested that the areas that are experiencing famine and drought should be given the upper hand.

 Increase in the VAT rate on petroleum products from 8% to 16% as proposed to the Finance Bill 2023 has caused the increase of price of the basic commodities such as sugar,maize flour among others.