Martha Karua, leader of the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya (NARC-Kenya), has warned against the reintroduction of parts of the rejected Finance Bill 2024.
In a media briefing on Thursday, August 22, 2024, Karua criticized President William Ruto’s administration for using tactics that previously sparked nationwide protests over the bill.
The 2022 presidential election running mate accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of attempting to reinstate contentious issues from the rejected tax-raising policy. She specifically highlighted that the fuel levy is among the sections the government is considering amending and reintroducing in the National Assembly.
Karua urged Kenyans to stay vigilant and oppose any efforts by the administration to bring back rejected clauses from the Finance Bill 2024. She stressed that the reintroduction of the fuel levy and other controversial elements must be actively challenged.
“Some aspects of the rejected bill, such as the fuel levy and other issues, that this tone-deaf regime is now talking of returning. As Kenyans, we must not accept this, and we must continue to question,” she stated.
Additionally, Karua criticized the government’s plan to enter into a public-private partnership with the Adani Group for the rehabilitation of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). She raised concerns about the secrecy surrounding the deal and questioned how it would benefit Kenya.
“It is the same script the regime is using to gift the Adani Group our main gateway, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. I am saying to gift them because this is surrounded by opaqueness and nobody knows what benefit Kenya will get,” she added.
