Parliament to hold special sitting after Uhuru rejects Finance Bill 2018

Parliament will now hold a special sitting on on September 18 over the Finance Bill that the President rejected on Thursday evening.

Officials at parliament and at the president’s office confirmed the Gazette notice summoning parliament from a month long recess.

Also Read: President Uhuru Kenyatta to address the nation over 16pc fuel tax

Parliament will hold a special sitting on the bill on Sept. 18 to reconsider the finance bill “together with the reservations of the president”, said the gazette notice signed by Justin Muturi, the Speaker of the National Assembly.

Kenyans will however continue to pay high fuel prices until the impasse on the controversial fuel tax is resolved.

It still remains unclear why the President rejected the Bill as passed by parliament in late August.

State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena said the President would address the country on the matter on Friday.

His government faced a strike by some fuel dealers, anger among commuters and a lawsuit after it triggered a hike in transport and fuel prices by imposing the 16 percent value added tax on all petroleum products on Sept. 1.

The Finance Bill 2018 that was returned to parliament had also retained a cap on commercial lending rates, after lawmakers amended a move by the Treasury CS Henry Rotich to repeal it.