- Kingi said after President Ruto was told of the financial situation, he had an option of running to international monetary institutions or ensuring Kenyans fund their government.
- “Right now, they will go into the streets, they will call you Zakayo (tax collector in the Bible), but in the long run, they will come to thank you for this decision you made," said Kingi.
Image: PCS
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has urged President William Ruto not to relent on taxation, saying it is the only way to free Kenya from the debt burden.
Kingi said after last year’s general election, they were informed during a meeting at Karen that the National Treasury had a paltry Sh90 million in cash in its coffers.
He said President Ruto, who was then setting up his government, told the leaders present that they had a lot of work to do.
“I remember after the officials from the Treasury briefed us about the financial status of the country, there was total silence. The President then stood up and told us, gentlemen, we have work to do,” said Kingi.
Kingi said after President Ruto was told of the financial situation, he had the option of running to international monetary institutions or ensuring Kenyans fund their government.
“The President was faced with callous decision and had to make very tough decisions that might seem to be punitive, but eventually things will work out,” said Kingi.
He said if President Ruto had opted for additional loans to fund government expenditure, Kenya would have sunk deeper into a financial crisis.
“The best way to see Kenya rise from the financial problems was to raise money locally. President Ruto is like a doctor who is treating a patient with a boil. The patient will make noise, make all manners of threats, but eventually when the boil is treated, he will be grateful,” said Kingi.
“Right now, they will go into the streets, they will call you Zakayo (tax collector in the Bible), but in the long run they will come to thank you for this decision you made.”
Kingi spoke during an interdenominational thanksgiving prayer at Mama Ngina Waterfront Park in Mombasa, which was attended by President Ruto.
Kingi, who is the immediate former Kilifi governor, said before last year’s general election, Ruto had been rejected by the government that was in place, despite serving as Deputy President.
“Here in Mombasa, Ruto was denied entry at the Deputy President’s official residence. He was kicked out like a tenant who refused to pay rent during the past regime, but he is now the President of Kenya,” said Kingi.
He added, “The system and the rich people had rejected him, but the stone that builders had rejected became the cornerstone. We have a reason to thank God,” he said.
Kingi rallied Kenyans to support the President because if he failed, the country would also fail.
“Those people who are fighting the President, in the event he fails, all of Kenya and our generations to come will also have failed. We need to support the President because his success is our success,” he said.
President Ruto, who spoke after Kingi, said, “The last general election was an election with a difference.
“Three things happened: The election dealt a big blow to ethnicity and ensured that tribalism that has bedeviled Kenya’s political circles became a thing of the past. Two, the elections proved that the ultimate decision of who becomes Kenya’s President lies with the people and, third, issues of political violence will never be part of Kenya’s election again.”
On Friday, during the Kenya Revenue Authority Taxpayers’ Day, President Ruto said they intend to raise Sh4 trillion in the next financial year.
“KRA must therefore continuously demonstrate a singular commitment to new service-oriented values and signal a departure from the abuses and excesses of previous times, which only served to elicit resentment and encourage evasion while facilitating wastage, theft, embezzlement and other corrupt practices,” said Ruto.
He said KRA now knows that it is possible to be courteous, kind and gentle to taxpayers and at the same time become even more effective and efficient in tax collection.
“I will repeat this: Not only is it possible to be efficient and effective while being courteous and considerate, it is the only way to serve taxpayers and other members of the public. Effective revenue collection doesn't need to be unpleasant and demeaning to members of the public,” he said.
Ruto said their decision to significantly enhance efficiency and integrity in providing public services to citizens by digitising over 13,000 government services has gone a long way to enhance revenue performance.
Monthly revenues from fees have already risen to Sh9 billion up from Sh1.5 billion.
“As we can all see, the interventions leading to improved performance are efficiency, integrity and service-oriented,” he said.