After a day of deadly clashes between protesters opposed to the Finance Bill and anti-riot police on Tuesday, President William Ruto has announced that he will not sign the Finance Bill 2024, finally yielding to widespread public opposition.
In a statement read at State House in the company of UDA Members of Parliament, President Ruto said that he had heard the loud voice of Kenyans.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 Finance Bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he stated.
The bill was passed and ready to be signed into law by the president, but Tuesday’s violent demos seem to have forced his hand. The looming threat of another round of demos on Thursday was also likely responsible for Ruto’s quick change of heart.
Riding on their success in storming parliament, Gen Z protesters have been threatening to do the same to State House, an unprecedented escalation of the matter.
Once a bill is before Parliament, it cannot simply lapse without formal withdrawal. Therefore, the President is expected to return the bill to Parliament, accompanied by a memorandum explaining his refusal to sign it into law. Following this, the majority leader Kimani Ichungwa’h will be asked to officially withdraw the bill.
In withdrawing the bill, President Ruto highlighted his administration’s efforts to reduce the cost of essential commodities and strengthen the national economy. “We have worked hard and consistently so that the price of essential commodities like ‘unga’ has dropped from Sh240 to Sh100,” he said. He also noted the significant reduction in the cost of fertilizer from Sh7,500 to Sh2,500 and the strengthening of the Shilling against the Dollar.
The president also spoke about Kenya’s progress in managing its national debt. He explained that 61% of every Sh100 collected in taxes is used to service the country’s debt. “We have paid Kenya’s Eurobond debt that was borrowed in 2014 of 2 billion dollars that has been hanging around our neck. We paid the last instalment of $500 million last week,” Ruto said.
In this new lean budget reality, Ruto further explained to Kenyans that some programmes that were to be financed by this bill will now have to be postponed to another financial year or cancelled entirely.
Some of the programmes that will not proceed as planned include hiring of JSS teachers on a permanent basis, settling of coffee and sugar farmers’ debt, and some aspects of the universal health programme, mainly government funding of chronic health illnesses.
The president further ordered the deduction of the Presidency’s budget, including cancellation of the planned renovations of the Deputy President’s official residence.
