Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro wants the government to reduce the number of bodyguards assigned to politicians to cut expenditure.
The MP said many leaders are guarded by more than one police officer who should be guarding citizens.
He said some elected leaders have two bodyguards while some cabinet secretaries have up to four.
He said this increases the tax burden on Kenyans.
Ndindi said the politicians did not have security aides while looking for votes and wondered who they are being protected from.
“So as to make Kenyans’ lives easier, as leaders, we need to make a conscious effort to reduce our expenses as much as possible,” he said at Mugoiri Girls High School on Friday.
He said he does not have a bodyguard himself and does not need one, and that having more bodyguards shows a leaders’ thirst for power.
Ndindi said MPs are elected into the National Assembly to empower voters and fight for their interest and not to push for more privileges.
“All public and civil servants including elected leaders and senior government officials should have their security reduced as it is an expense that is put on the shoulders of Kenyans,” he added.
The MP lauded President Uhuru Kenyatta for halving the VAT imposed on petroleum products from 16 per cent to eight per cent.
Ndindi said though he would have preferred to have the entire tax scrapped, he is happy the President listened to the cries of Kenyans and took action.
He lauded the President’s decision to reduce government’s expenditure by scrapping procurement of unnecessary commodities and benchmarking tours.
“The government uses billions of money to buy refreshments in offices, which is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
The President on Friday proposed budget cuts across government departments saying the cuts will touch on hospitality, travel, seminars and training.
Ndindi further said that MPs would support the Finance Bill 2018, which the president returned to Parliament.
He asked petroleum products’ traders and matatu operators to reduce their prices since the president had considered the plight of Kenyans.
Ndindi also appealed to the government to find a way of clearing its debts which, he said, had further aggravated the economy of the country.
“These high debts are affecting our economy adversely as over 40 per cent of our revenue goes towards paying them,” he said.
Clearing the debts, he said, would allow the government to use its revenue on development.
Murang’a woman representative Sabina Chege asked the President to consider removing the entire VAT on petroleum, saying Kenyans are already overtaxed.
She said imposing even one per cent gives traders excuses to double prices of commodities.