What the leaders feel about the 2017-2018 budget

The 2017/2018 budget was received with mixed reactions by leaders from across the political divide.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Benjamin Lagat, says that the government’s move to increase funds allocated to the elderly and Opharns and the Vulnerable Children (OVC) to Ksh 7.4 billion and Ksh 8 billion respectively, is a step in the right direction.

“I am very happy with this budget because it has realised that people over the age of 70 as well as orphans are supposed to be taken care of in our society,” said the Ainamoi Lawmaker.

Budalangi MP, Ababu Namwamba, now wants to ‘feel’ the budget’s impacts as it has sought to lower the prices of basic commodities like maize and wheat flour by zero rating their custom import duty.

On the other hand, opposition leaders are a sad lot as they see the 2017/2018 budget as a public relations propaganda and a ‘campaign tactic’ for Jubilee to persuade people to vote them back in the coming August polls.

“This is a campaign budget. Jubilee has not done enough to cater for the common mwananchi. I attempted an amendment to have workers getting salaries under the mark of Ksh 38,000 exempted from being taxed but to no avail,” lamented Gwassi MP, John Mbadi, who is also the ODM Party national chairman.

On his part, Kiminini Legislator, Chris Wamalwa, has faulted the government’s decision to allow duty free importation of maize saying that it is catastrophic to the local farmer.

“I come from Kiminini, Trans-Nzoia County. Our main crop is maize, when you allow duty free importation of maize, it means the common farmer will have no market to sell their maize at a fair so as to benefit from their yields?” he decried.