Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – President William Ruto’s government has moved to defend the Treasury’s decision to reintroduce sections of the rejected Finance Bill 2024, despite protests from a section of Kenyans, claiming that the push would help the government reduce borrowing.
In a statement yesterday,
officials from the Treasury Ministry, led by the Director General of Budget,
Fiscal and Economic Affairs Albert Mwenda, noted that the government aimed to
raise Ksh170 billion from the reintroduction of the contested bill.
Mwenda revealed that the push
would help the government sustain its operations as it aimed to generate
between 0.9 and 1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in revenue that
would translate to Ksh170 billion.
However, Treasury officials
noted that the amount would help the government recover all the revenue lost
from the shelving of the Finance Bill 2024 in June this year as a
result of the anti-government protests.
The Treasury also revealed that
it was keen on employing other financial consolidation steps that included exit
from Eurobond loans and instead focus on financing mechanisms such as
Public-Private Partnerships.
According to the Treasury, the
debt crisis that is currently facing the country could only be avoided by not
borrowing from the domestic market.
This happens even as there has
been pressure on the government on the risk of crippling key financial
decisions as a result of borrowing heavily from commercial banks.
The Treasury’s bid to
reintroduce some sections of the Finance Bill is likely to be met with
rejection from Kenyans, particularly considering that it was the reason many
hit the streets to protest in May and June this year.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
.jpg)
0 Comments