Saturday, June 22, 2024 - Starehe MP Amos Mwago has revealed how President William Ruto blackmailed and threatened MPs before voting on the Finance Bill 2024 on Thursday.
Mwago is among the 115 members who
voted against the controversial Finance Bill 2024, while 204 members voted in
favor of advancing the bill to the next stage.
Speaking during an interview, Mwago said there were tremendous efforts to threaten and hoodwink members of the National Assembly to pass the bill.
He noted that Ruto, through the Treasury, stated that
failure to approve or pass the bill would result in Members of Parliament
experiencing cuts in the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) and other
essential services the government provides.
"There were some elements of trying to blackmail the MPs.
"The budget-making process is not an event it is a process that entails a lot.
"It requires coordination between the Treasury, Budget Committee, and the
Finance Committee," he said.
"But when these people were trying to draft these
bills, they were acting like they were not in tandem with what they were doing,
that is why they tried to blackmail us by bringing us Junior Secondary School
cuts, medical interns, and Constituency Development Fund cuts."
Treasury warning to legislators of cash cuts cornered MPs
to pass the bill to the next stage after an intense debate. This was
despite countrywide protests from young people who rejected the bill.
Mwago reiterated that the move to threaten legislators to
pass the bill elicited public emotions and public uproar.
The smooth sailing of the bill to the next stage angered
many Kenyans, particularly the youth, who have vowed to continue with the
peaceful demonstrations in the coming days.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
0 Comments