Friday, July 7, 2023 – Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has hit back at an activist who filed a suit blocking his proposal to remove the 35% duty on cooking oil.
This comes even as Kuria has been accused of looting a cool Sh6 billion in the edible oil scandal.
In a statement, the CS claimed that the block was instituted by ‘cartels’ seeking to disrupt the development of the local industry.
Further, the outspoken CS vowed to retaliate against the detractors who challenged the proposal and in essence, the Kenya Kwanza agenda.
“Sued over a proposal! Good Lord! These cartels have had it smooth for far too long. They will stop at nothing. But an irresistible force will meet an immovable object. Watch this space,” he stated.
An activist filed a suit at the Mombasa High Court seeking to quash the proposal. He challenged the former Gatundu South MP to produce statistics indicating that the imported crude oil is not detrimental to the local production market.
In the suit, Julius Ogogoh stated that the proposal will hurt companies that had already invested in the sector.
“Kuria’s actions are arbitrary, ill-advised and malicious. This court has no option but to set them aside and make an order restraining such further illegalities,” he argued.
He added that the tax regime would directly affect the pricing of edible oils in the local market – further subjecting Kenyans to a higher burden caused by the taxes.
Mombasa High Court judge Olga Sewe certified the matter as urgent and directed the activist to apply for judicial review orders within 21 days.
Kuria had proposed the removal of the 35% duty on edible oils and replacing it with a 10% export and investment promotion levy on edible oils.
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