During the budget reading on Thursday, opposition Members of Parliament led by Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, staged a walkout from the National Assembly. They booed Treasury Cabinet Secretary Professor Njuguna Ndung’u and left the assembly before he began reading the Sh3.6 trillion budget.
Speaking outside Parliament Buildings, the Azimio lawmakers protested both the budget and the Finance Bill 2023.
On the contentious bill, the Azimio MPs accused Speaker Moses Wetangula of misleading the house regarding the timing of the vote on the second reading stage of the Finance Bill 2023.
“We have walked out on CS Njuguna Ndungu who has come to make some speech on two accounts. We are protesting against the arbitrary manner in which the debate and the vote on the Finance Bill were undertaken. We feel it was rushed to achieve an objective and we are protesting against the manner of the budget estimates were taken,” said Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino added: “We are walking out because the budget has been fuelled by the illegal Finance Bill which increases the high cost of living. The government ignored the plight of poor Kenyans. We will use all the necessary means enshrined in the constitution to stop this Government from suppressing citizens.”
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed on the other hand voiced Azimio’s lack of confidence in the budget.
“We walked out because Azimio does not believe in the budget. This is not a budget for the people, it is a budget for the Kenya Kwanza government, so until we get a budget that is based on the premise of the Kenyan people, we will not participate,” said Junet.
H added: “The most important part of the Bill is coming on Tuesday (next week) for the third reading, we are setting the stage for a showdown. We don’t believe in this government until we get a budget that is people-centered we will not agree.”
