Friday, June 16, 2023 – Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has defended her decision to support President William Ruto’s contentious Finance Bill 2023 against her party ODM and Azimio’s stance on the same, saying she does not regret even for a second.
This is even as reports emerged that Passaris was among the Azimio legislators that were bribed with Sh1 million each by Ruto to betray Raila Odinga and Kenyans by voting for the Finance Bill 2023.
However, she denied being bribed to back Ruto and his proposed tax measures outlined in the Finance Bill 2023.
According to her, she voted for the Finance Bill 2023 and declined to join her Azimio colleagues in staging a walkout from Parliament while the budget was being presented because it was the right thing to do since the government needed money for its operations.
The legislator stated that the Finance Bill 2023 and the budget would protect Kenyans and the government from the negative consequences of mounting debts and a possible recession.
“I would like to say that any government cannot function without money. Our country is grappling with huge debts, and we don’t want lenders to adopt austerity measures to control that.”
“So, we must stand firm to ensure that our government has money. Where will we get the money if the government does not collect tax? People must be taxed so that the government can also fulfill its mandate.
“I have seen some good things from the budget, including increased allocation to HELB and hospitals,” Passaris stated.
ODM announced it would initiate disciplinary action against its members who supported the Finance Bill 2023 and the budget reading process.
Passaris and Lang’ata MP, Phelix Odiwour (Jalang’o), were listed among the targeted MPs. Embakasi East MP, Babu Owino will also be summoned for failing to vote against the bill.
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