Tuesday, 25th June 2024

Hon. Members, welcome back after the weekend. We have quorum to transact business. I hope that the dignity and decorum that you displayed last week will carry on this week as you discharge your constitutional responsibilities to our country.

Clerk-at-the-Table.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Thank you. Next Order.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

Hon. Wandayi.

Hon. Speaker, I rise under Article 93 (2) of the Constitution.

Just hold on, Hon. Wandayi. Take your seat. The documents laid by the Deputy Whip of the Majority Party have to be referred to the listed committees. The first Paper is referred to the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, and the second Paper to the

Committee on Delegated Legislation.

I refer you to the provisions of Article 93 (2) of the Constitution, very briefly. If you allow me, I will read it:

“The National Assembly and the Senate shall perform their respective functions in accordance with this Constitution.”

If you go further to Article 108(1) of the Constitution, it clearly provides that there shall be a Leader of the Majority Party and a Leader of the Minority Party. Article 108(3) goes further to say that the Leader of the Minority Party shall be the leader in the National Assembly of the second- largest party or coalition of parties. Finally, Article 108(4) provides the order of precedence in the National Assembly, which is obvious: The Speaker, the Leader of the Majority Party and then the Leader of the Minority Party.

Pursuant to those provisions, the Parliamentary Service Commission has proceeded to facilitate those offices, particularly the Office of the Leader of the Minority Party – which I am privileged to occupy as we speak. Part of the facilitation of that office is the enabling of the office to hire officers. As a matter of fact, the Commission has facilitated my Office to hire officers. In fact, it has hired officers for me to serve in the Office of the Leader of the Minority Party to enable that Office to perform its functions effectively. I believe that is the case with the Office of the Leader of the Majority Party and other offices in the National Assembly.

Hon. Speaker, one of the officers in my Office is the person holding the position of Policy Analyst. The Policy Analyst in the Office of the Leader of the Minority Party plays a very crucial role in enabling the holder of that Office to perform his function. On the eve of today's Sitting, specifically this morning at 2.20 a.m., I was called by the Policy Analyst in the Office of the Hon. Leader of the Minority Party, Mr. Gabriel Oguda. He called me under distress indicating that there were people who he referred to as policemen at his gate breaking into his compound.

Order, Hon. Members. I need to hear.

Hon. Speaker, 10 minutes after, Mr. Oguda called me, but my phone calls were jammed. I could not make or receive calls until about 6.30 a.m. this morning. In the ensuing period, those persons broke the gate of Mr. Oguda’s compound, went further to break his door and abducted him. As I speak, we do not know the whereabouts of Mr. Oguda, who is an officer in the Office of the Hon. Leader of the Minority Party. He is an officer who is supposed to make our work possible. We do not take it lightly that this is happening on the eve of this very special day. To further explain, the persons who abducted Mr. Oguda are not known, even though in his phone call to me at 2.20 a.m., he indicated that they were policemen. We have looked in all police stations in Nairobi and its environs, but he is nowhere to be seen. We do not know whether they killed him or they are holding him somewhere incommunicado. We do not know.

Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya protects the right to freedom of every Kenyan citizen. Indeed, even the rights of arrested persons are protected in the Constitution in Article 49. Nobody is supposed to be arrested without being informed why they are being arrested. The Constitution goes further to provide for the rights of detained persons. If you are arrested and detained for whatever reason, you have a right to access the services of advocates or lawyers. Currently, the lawyers that I have assembled have been unable to access Mr. Oguda wherever he is. This cannot be treated as business as usual. It is in the same manner that someone can abduct officers assigned to the Office of the Hon. Speaker. That would be an affront to the independence of the institution of Parliament. Parliament is an independent institution and this

House is not complete without one side of the House. It is only complete with the Majority and the Minority sides.

You have made your point.

Hon. Speaker, before I conclude, some of us have walked this journey and you know that this is not new to us. It will be unfortunate if this country was to regress to the dark old days which we have been accustomed to, and which some of us have been victims to. The trend of abductions of people by unknown people is now emerging in this country. This morning, some sources told me that a unit is being established in the police service that does not report to anybody. They are a law unto themselves. They are abducting Kenyans...

Wind up.

I am on a point of order.

What is itching Hon. Sirma?

Order, Hon. Members. Let him finish.

Can I allow him to prosecute my case? He seems to know more.

Proceed. I cannot hear what you are saying. Clerk-at-the-Table, can you improve the sound system?

I was in this House in the 12th Parliament when Hon. Members, especially some who are sitting on that side, were crying here over those abductions. I can tell you that the shoe could be on the other side of the foot. This is the same situation. What is good for the goose must certainly be good for the gander.

Finish up.

Will I be right to request you to use your powers under the Constitution to compel whoever has abducted the officer in the Office of the Hon. Leader of the Minority Party, to produce him before we can proceed? Otherwise, this House will continue to be under siege. We cannot operate under intimidation. You cannot…

Thank you. Hon. Leader of the Minority Party, you have made your point. Give him one minute to conclude. You are now making a speech instead of complaining.

If anybody thought they could intimidate Members of Parliament, let me assure them that I can never be intimidated. You will never intimidate me.

You have made your point. That is unnecessary extra material.

On behalf of my coalition, I demand that the officer be released or worse still, be taken to court and charged with the offences he has committed.

Thank you. Hon. Leader of the Majority Party.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I think the issue being raised by the Hon. Leader of the Minority Party is an important matter that we should deal with. That is why I was pleading with my colleagues here to allow him to make his point. This is a House where we should all conduct ourselves with some decorum so that the Hon. Leader of the Minority Party makes his point. As he says, today it could be an officer serving in his office and tomorrow, it could be an officer serving in the office of Hon. Rindikiri or Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah. Therefore, none of us…

Hon. Speaker, protect me from Hon. Karemba and Hon. Kawanjiku, who are up on their feet making noise.

Order, Hon. Karemba and other Hon. Members. Take your seats.

As I was saying, none of us in this House would tolerate that kind of conduct that the Hon. Leader of the Minority Party has raised. I will be cautious to use words like “abductions” or “kidnap”. Probably, I could commit to first checking with the Inspector General of Police whether the police are holding the said officer and also to investigate what happened and who those particular people are. When I listened to Hon. Opiyo, it was also not clear to him whether those were policemen or otherwise. When this administration took over the reins of leadership in this country, President William Ruto committed that the days of Kenyans being abducted and killed and their bodies dumped in River Yala or River Tana, were behind us. I can assure you and the country that, that shall never happen again in this country. A situation where Kenyans are abducted and their bodies are later fished out from rivers will never happen. Hon. Speaker, if it were the police, not just officers of the Parliamentary Service Commission serving in offices would be targeted, even we as Members of Parliament, including those on this side of the coalition, would have fallen victim.

Many, even on this side of the coalition, have fallen victim to arrests, justifiably by the police. When the police arrest you, they book you into an Occurrence Book (OB) and lock you in an unknown police station. You will be produced in court or released if they have no reasons to charge you. Therefore, let us not create the impression that those of us working in Parliament and parliamentarians are immune to the law. None of us is immune to the law. All of us should and must be treated equally under the law regardless of whether we are Members of Parliament, or whether I am the Leader of the majority Party or Hon. Opiyo is the Leader of the Minority Party. If Hon. Opiyo and I run into problems with the law, the law will take its course. We must be arrested and produced in court in line with that law.

Hon. Speaker, let me commit that as soon as we are done, I will check with the Inspector- General (IG) of National Police Service whether the said officer, whose details I will get from Hon. Opiyo, is in the hands of the police. This will enable us to avoid speculations and many things we may be saying, including abduction, kidnaping and other things that are related to that. If he has been arrested by the police, we will get to know why he has been arrested, and with what offences he is being charged. That I can only confirm once we get in touch with the police.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Order, Hon. Members. I have heard what the Leader of the Minority Party has said. He is right in the context of the Constitution and the law. I have also heard how the Leader of the Majority Party has responded. I am not privy to any of those facts. You know that you have immunity as Members of Parliament. Nobody can arrest or serve you with any court processes within the precincts of Parliament. Your staff will be protected under my watch. However, we will obviously not protect those who break the law because even as Members of Parliament, we are not above the law. If you commit any crime out there, the Hon. Speaker can only wish you well. But if they come to arrest you in Parliament, then he will stop it.

I will direct the Leader of the Majority Party to get in touch with the IG, find out about the officer working in the Office of the Leader of the Minority Party and report back to me within the next one or two hours. Hon. Wandayi, I will be able to communicate.

Thank you.

Leader of the Majority Party.

Hon, Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:

THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 28 (4) , this House, resolves to alter its Calendar for the Third Session (Regular Sessions) , as adopted on Wednesday 14th February 2024 by varying the period for the Short Recess with respect to the second part of the session so that ––

Hon. Members will also have an opportunity not only to spend a bit of time over those two weeks with their constituents and families, but also to prepare for the next session, which is the next four weeks after we resume, as it will also be vigorous.

Hon. Speaker, I do not think there is anything much more to add to the Motion. I beg to move and request the Leader of the Minority Party to second the Motion for agreement.

Hon. Speaker, I second. Even though we did not discuss this in the House Business Committee (HBC) , the Leader of the Majority Party has explained to me. I think it is an innocent Motion. Therefore, I second it.

As I do so, I am happy with your directive to the Leader of the Majority Party on the issue that I raised earlier. I am very happy that in two hours’ time, we shall get some feedback. However, I am also reminded that in addition to Oguda, there are other seven Kenyans who are also under abduction. Those are: Osama, Drey, Temper CR7, Harriette, Shad Kiprono, Franje and World Smith. Those are young Kenyans, basically Generation Zs, who are also missing.

Are they also parliamentary staffers?

No.

They are not. Okay.

They are patriotic Kenyans. Therefore, as the Leader of the Majority Party consults with the IG of Police, Mr. Koome, let him also come forth with the whereabouts of those other seven Kenyans.

Pass on the names to the Leader of the Majority Party.

Yes. Those are young Kenyans who are fighting for our rights and those of the downtrodden.

Thank you.

I second.

Order, Hon. Member for Kieni. Take the nearest seat.

Order, Hon. Okuome, take your seat. Hon. Members, you realise that the Leader of the Majority Party has moved the Motion as it appears on the Order Paper in an amended form; from resumption on 23rd July to 16th July.

Put the Question.

Can I put the Question?

Yes.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

What is out of order, Hon. Mbadi?

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I know this is a Procedural Motion and in ordinary circumstances, I would support it. But I oppose it. The reason being, we are at a critical moment in this country especially this week and possibly next week. We are the people's elected representatives. So, it is important for us to delay our recess to study what is going on in the country. If there is a requirement that we sit and make some adjustments, then we will be here to make them.

This will be irresponsible of us, when our young generation are out there in the streets protesting against some of the decisions we make. So, I do not see why we should break this week. Let us be here this week and the following week. If things calm down, then we can proceed on recess end of next week. I want to persuade this Hon. House not to be irresponsible and insensitive to the plight of Kenyans out there. Therefore, I oppose.

Put the Question.

Do I put the Question?

Yes.

Yes, Hon. Junet.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me an opportunity. I have heard what Hon. Mbadi has said. In my view, now that we are dealing with a very important issue of the Finance Bill, I think it is important we go on recess so that we can go and explain to our people why some Members voted ‘yes’ and others ‘no’. Let us go back to our constituencies and explain.

Hon. Speaker, I support the Motion.

Order, Hon. Members.

Next Order.

Order, Hon. Members. Order. Hon. Farah take your seat. Members on their feet, take your seats. Hon. Members, before we commence Order No.10, I wish to give the following communication on proposed amendments to the Finance Bill, 2024. Hon. Oluoch and Hon. Okello, take your seats.

Hon. Members, this communication relates to the business appearing under Order No.10 in today's Order Paper, being Committee of the whole House on the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No.30 of 2024).

Hon. Members, you recall that on Wednesday, 19th June 2024, I guided all Members desirous of proposing amendments to the Bill to submit their amendments to the Office of the Clerk by 1.00 p.m., on Thursday, 20th June 2024. At the close of the submission period, 37 Members, including the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, on behalf of the Committee, had proposed amendments to the Bill.

Hon. Members, Article 114 of the Constitution provides that, in any instance, where a Motion makes provision for a matter listed in the definition of a Money Bill, the House may proceed only in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant committee, after taking into account the views of the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Finance. In this regard, and noting the importance of the various amendments received on the Bill, I directed the Clerk to convey the amendments to the National Treasury for the purpose of obtaining the views of the Cabinet Secretary, in line with Article 114 of the Constitution.

Hon. Members, pursuant to Standing Order 131, I also referred the proposed amendments to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, to consider the harmonisation of similar or related proposals that are made in respect to various clauses in the Bill and to report the outcome of the exercise.

This exercise is referred to as ‘winnowing’ in parliamentary terms. Hon. Members, I am informed that the Committee undertook the winnowing exercise yesterday, Monday, 24th June

of the Committee has since briefed me on the harmonisation process. I

responsible for Finance, Members will note the disclaimer, ‘subject to provisions of Article 114 of the Constitution’, appears under specific amendments in the Order Paper. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 114 of the Constitution and in keeping with previous guidance on this matter, I direct that the proposed amendments bearing the disclaimer, ‘subject to provisions of Article 114 of the Constitution’, will not be considered in the Committee of the whole House.

Additionally, I wish to convey that I have received notice that the following Members have formally withdrawn their amendments to the Bill, notwithstanding my approval or the position of the Committee during the winnowing process.

Hon. Martin Peters Owino, MP;

Hon. Beatrice Elachi, MP;

Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba HSC, MP;

Hon. Millie Odhiambo, MP;

Hon. Anthony Oluoch, MP;

Hon. Samuel Atandi, MP;

Hon. Caleb Hamisi, MP;

Hon. Cliff Gisairo, MP;

Hon. Irene Mayaka MP;

As I was starting the House, I have been brought the following:

For the guidance of the House, I note that arising from the winnowing process, a significant number of the proposals in the amendments formally withdrawn by the foregoing Members are either carried in the Committee's amendments or the amendments proposed by other individual Members.

The House is accordingly guided and I thank you.

On a point of order, Hon. Speaker.

Yes, Hon. Wandayi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Of course, I appreciate your communication but you must also take cognisance of the huge number of amendments that have been dropped. It is good to put this in context for the benefit of the public, Hon. Speaker. As you can clearly see, those amendments that have been withdrawn emanated almost entirely from the Members of the Azimio Coalition. This was as a result of extensive deliberations and consultations that we had amongst ourselves. We came to this very painful decision to have those amendments withdrawn because prosecuting them was going to be an exercise in vain and one that was going to sanitise a process that we have since declared flawed.

Order, Hon. Wandayi. Take your seat. Hon. Wandayi, that is an ambush. To begin with, the amendments that have been withdrawn are not yours. None of them belongs to you.

Order Hon. Patrick Makau. Take your seat. Two, I have not received any communication from any Member withdrawing their amendments that they have asked you to speak on their behalf. Those are individual amendments; they are not amendments of the Minority Party neither are they amendments sponsored by anybody other than the Member individually. So, I want to encourage you, because you are always a very decent Leader of the Minority Party, not to go that route because I will not allow you.

Having directed you on the amendments and the withdrawals, out of 37, 13 have been withdrawn. I have been asked by Hon. Kajwang’ that he wishes to withdraw his amendment formally. So, let me give him an opportunity to say so. The rest of the Members…

Order. I can read through your minds. You want to make reckless political statements in the guise of amendments.

Order. Any Member who wants to withdraw their amendments should write a letter and send it to my office. I will approve it immediately and the Clerk-at-the-Table will be notified. The only person who has asked me and I have acceded to his request is Hon. T.J. Kajwang’. He was gracious enough to walk to the Chair to say he left his letter in the office, but he can put his withdrawal on record. I give him that opportunity.

Hon. Speaker, I wish to withdraw my amendments. I want to express myself on the Hansard that my amendments stand withdrawn.

Thank you.

Hon. Mbadi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to thank you for giving me this one minute also on record that I had proposed an amendment to Clause 48 of the Bill. I wish to withdraw that amendment in line with the feelings of the country.

Thank you.

Yes, Hon. Junet.

Hon. Speaker, in line with your guidance, I also had an amendment and I thank you for giving me this opportunity to withdraw it. But for the orderly business of the House, I want to bring to your attention that as a Minority group, we had a Parliamentary Group meeting yesterday, even if we have not communicated to you formally on that one you are right.

I have received no communication.

You are right, Hon. Speaker. So, we have agreed that all the Minority Members will withdraw all their amendments. So, I want to give judicial notice to the Chair of the Committee who is going to run the affairs of the Committee of the whole House after you, that every Member should be accorded an opportunity to withdraw his or her amendment at the time the Chair raises the matter on the Floor of the House. That is the position. We are withdrawing all the amendments and reject the Bill in totality.

Thank you.

Thank you. Your notice is not judicial; it is formal.

Hon. Members, those of you who want to withdraw your amendments can do a hand-written withdrawal and send it over to my Chambers. I am recessing back to the Chamber; I will immediately approve and resend it to the presiding Member of the Speaker’s Panel. On the same matter, those who do not want to write, remain in the Chamber and when your amendment is reached, simply stand up and say: “Hon. Chair, I beg to withdraw my amendment”, and the matter ends there. It is as simple as that. We do not need to debate on this.

Hon. Senior Counsel.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I stand under Standing Order 83. First, I appreciate your guidance. Let me allow the Commissioner to finish consulting you.

Sorry! Start again.

I appreciate your guidance on that matter and, indeed, it is the right of every Member to withdraw any amendment. I do not have an amendment because I took the position that you cannot amend a bad Bill.

Separately, Hon. Speaker, I raised to your attention the matter of dress code. Two weeks ago, I raised the issue of Hon. Didmus Barasa wearing a non-parliamentary hat and you deferred your ruling on advisement and since you deferred, now Hon. Moroto is also going in that direction.

Hon. Speaker, you know it is not just parliamentary, but I want you to take judicial or parliamentary notice that we on this side are dressed in black and I am happy you are also dressed

in black, Hon. Speaker. I think you are helping us mourn with the rest of Kenyans that we are in a very dark situation. May you on the matter of parliamentary dress code address the issue of Hon. Barasa and Hon. Moroto, find them grossly out of order, and throw them out for the rest of this Session.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. (Laughter)

That is about the fourth time you have raised that, Hon. Otiende. Let us go on with the business. I will give a formal direction, maybe, tomorrow. Yes.

Hon. Atandi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I have been raising my hand to raise a matter which is similar to what Hon. Otiende has raised on dress code. There is a Nominated lady Member of Parliament who is not dressed properly and, to make the matters worse, she is also yellow in colour. So, most of us are not concentrating because of the way she is dressed.

Hon. Speaker, I do not know her name, but she is there showing off her ….

Which Member? Every Member here has a name. So, which Member? When Hon. Otiende Amollo spoke, he said Hon. Didmus and Hon. Moroto. So, who are you referring to?

Hon. Speaker, I think her name is Hon. Trizah, something like that. She is yellow in colour and we cannot concentrate.

Which Member is that? Order, Hon. Members. I am not aware of any Member called something like that. Hon. Members, will you be upstanding so that we can go to the Committee of the whole House. Has the Order been called? Okay, hold on. Call the Order.

Hon. Members, will you be upstanding.

Order, Hon. Members. We are now in the Committee of the whole House to consider the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 30 of 2024) . Clause 2

The Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning has an amendment.

THAT, Clause 2 of the Bill be amended−

Hon. Members, can we put the Question?

Yes.

Clause 3

Mover of the Bill.

THAT, Clause 3 of the Bill be amended in the definition of “digital marketplace” by−

Put the Question.

Clause 4

Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, move the amendment.

THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 4. This amendment seeks to reduce the time when foreign exchange losses can be claimed for tax purposes. We are reducing the period from five years to three years. The Committee listened to the stakeholders and recommended to reduce the time from three to five years. This will give businesses longer time to claim losses on their foreign exchange transactions.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Mover.

THAT, the Bill be amended in Clause 6 −

Mover.

THAT, Clause 8 of the Bill be amended in the proposed New Section 12 E –

Mover.

THAT, Clause 9 of the Bill be amended –

Mover, you may move on with the other sub-clauses.

Section 12G is a clean up to provide for covered persons. Clause 12H is the one that was providing for 2.5 per cent Motor Vehicle Tax. The Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning proposed the deletion of this particular Clause. We said it lies in the wrong Act. You cannot amend the Income Tax Act to introduce a Motor Vehicle Tax.

Secondly, it is going to be non-progressive. The 2.5 per cent with a threshold of 100,000 would mean that those people who have a motor vehicle of more than Ksh4 million would pay less, in terms of percentage.

Also, this would have diverse effects on our insurance sector because most Kenyans take third-party insurance. Therefore, imposing an additional tax on that motor vehicle would be retrogressive and would cripple the insurance sector.

Additionally, commercial vehicles already pay an advance tax before they import the vehicle; therefore, that would amount to double taxation. It is also important to mention that out of the 131 Clauses we received for amendments, this was the most popular one. We agreed with the stakeholders that this needs to be deleted. We propose that this Clause be deleted and there be no introduction of motor tax in the Republic of Kenya.

Leader of the Majority Party, you wanted to say something on this?

On a point of order, Hon. Chairlady.

Leader of the Majority Party, I can see you are on a point of order.

I rise to support that particular amendment. I want to inform the country that this is the Motor Vehicle Tax that is now being proposed. Upon voting, it will be removed. I urge Members to support what the people of Kenya said that we remove the tax on motor vehicle.

I support.

On a point of order, Hon. Chair.

Unfortunately, Hon. Junet, we have already passed that amendment. Do you want to speak on something else? Go on with your point of order.

Hon. Chairlady, I can see the Chairman has proposed an amendment, that we remove the Motor Vehicle Tax. We believe it is too rigid and late. We are rejecting the Bill in totality. Put the Question!

Clause 10

Mover.

THAT, Clause 10 of the Bill be amended in paragraph (a) in the proposed paragraph (ae) by deleting the word “ten thousand” and substituting therefor the words “fifteen thousand” appearing in sub-paragraph (iii) . Hon. Chairlady, this is where we are increasing the amount of money the employees will be able to claim against their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for post-retirement medical Insurance Scheme. This is a big for salaried people who want to save for their post-retirement medical scheme. We are proposing to increase from the limit of Ksh10,000 to Ksh15,000.

We have seen how retirees rely on their children for their medical insurance. Therefore, this proposal is to increase the amount of money that you will be allowed to claim from your PAYE, when you save for your post-retirement scheme by increasing it from Ksh10,000 to Ksh15,000. This is a big win to the salaried Kenyans of this country who would like to start contributing towards their post-retirement medical scheme.

Put the Question!

Clause 12

Mover.

THAT, Clause 12 of the Bill be amended in the proposed new Clause 18G by inserting the following new subsection immediately after subsection (4) —

Mover.

THAT, Clause 19 of the Bill be amended in the proposed new section 34 by inserting the following new subsection immediately after subsection (2) —

The Mover of the amendment is Hon. Makau. Is Hon. Makau present? I can neither see Hon. Makau nor his request on intervention. Hon. Members, in the absence of the Mover, the amendment is dropped.

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, you can now move your amendment to Clause 20.

THAT, Clause 20 of the Bill be amended in paragraph (a) by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph (s) —

Hon. Members, I can see it is the mood of the House that I put the Question.

THAT, Clause 23 of the Bill be amended—

What is the issue, Chairperson?

Hon. Chairlady, to save time, let me move deletion of paragraph (a) on retaining tax exemptions on amateur sports, deletion of paragraph (b) providing for exemption of Income Tax of registered trusts and further deletion of paragraph (d) so that contributions of civil servants to public pension schemes will now be exempt from taxation.

(Question, that the words be left out

be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

Mover.

THAT, Clause 25 of the Bill be amended in paragraph (b) —

Mover of the Bill.

THAT, the Bill be amended in Clause 26 by—

This seeks to correct grammatical and referencing error in the Bill. (Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

Mover of the Bill.

THAT, Clause 30 of the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed subsection (5) and substituting therefor the following new sub-section-

Mover of the Bill.

THAT, Clause 31 of the Bill be amended in paragraph (a) —

I will give the first Mover, Hon. Leah Sankaire.

THAT, Clause 34 of the Bill is amended by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph (T) − (Ta) by inserting the following new paragraphs immediately after paragraph 81− 81A. Pla Bio Plastic Film of tariff number 3920.10.99. 81B. Pla Bio Plastic Film of tariff number 3920.79.10. 81C. Airlaid paper of tariff number 4818.89.00. 81D. Release paper without gum of tariff 4811.49.00 81E. Release paper with gum of tariff 4811.49.00. 81F. Construction glue (Hot melt) of tariff 3506.99.00. 81G. Positioning glue (Hot melt) of tariff 3506.99.00. 81H. Tissue Bio Sap Sheet (65mm) of tariff 4818.89.00.

81I. Adhesive structural of tariff 3506.99.00. 81J. Bio pouch (10pads pack) of 3920.69.99. 81K. Airlaid tissue paper of tariff 4818.90.00 My request is for the inclusion of biomaterials on the list of tax-exempt goods. Those are biomaterials for the production of sanitary towels which are environmentally friendly. The benefits of using compostable sanitary towels are that the biomaterials are processed from a bamboo tree and this provides for the composability after a period of between three weeks to one month depending on the reagent used. This makes them environmentally friendly. The bamboo tree has an antibacterial component that prevents any form of irritation or infection on the girls or users. This makes it suitable for our girls due to the long hours they spend in class. The bio sap used locks in the liquid preventing any form of wetness giving a high-quality comfortable pad that offers long-lasting protection from leaks.

The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning.

Hold on, let me propose the Question first.

I give the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning a chance to contribute to that.

Hon. Chairlady, during winnowing, we did agree with Hon. Leah on zero-rating this local manufacture of biodegradable sanitary towels. The Committee also proposes deletion of paragraphs H, I, J and K. This will make sure that we zero rate all raw materials that are used for local manufacturing of diapers and sanitary towels. Further, we provide for exemption from taxation on all diapers and sanitary towels in this country.

This particular clause provides for zero-rating of local manufacture of fertiliser and all micro nutrients and fodder feeds used to add value to our fertiliser, zero rating tea packaging materials, mosquito repellents, materials used to locally assemble stoves, mobile phones and electric motorcycles. This is to make sure that we remain marketable as a country and that we support manufacturing in the Republic of Kenya. We are going back to zero rating tax on bread and this will mean that ordinary bread, gluten and unleavened bread will remain zero-rated. Therefore, no taxes will be increased on bread.

Hon. Member for Kinangop, Hon. Thuku Kwenya.

Hon. Chairlady, I rise to support this amendment by the Chairlady of Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) . We are trying to encourage local manufacturing and once we exempt raw materials from tax we will create employment.

Thank you.

The Hon. Leader of the Majority Party.

Thank you Hon. Chairlady. I rise to support. Kenyans had expressed their reservations about taxation on bread. The Committee listened and there will be no tax on bread. Kenyans also expressed their reservation on VAT on diaspora remittances, money transfers and all those taxes are now removed. There will be no taxation on bread and remittances. Yesterday, I saw a beautiful young lady in Washington DC demonstrating outside the Kenyan Embassy. She was claiming that there was a VAT on remittances that had been sneaked into this Bill. I wish to inform Kenyans in the Diaspora including the beautiful lady, Purity

Mwamoyo, that the lies, misinformation, disinformation and political propaganda that have been peddled around this Bill is now dispelled by those amendments.

(Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to)

Hon. Members, I now give the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning to also move an amendment on Clause 34.

Hon. Chairlady, we have made very good progress. We are done with the VAT Act and now we are in the Excise Duty Act.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, Clause 34 of Bill be amended-

(Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to)

Mover.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, the Bill be amended in Clause 35 by-

Reject the Bill!

New Clause 33A

Hon. Chairman.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after Clause 33- 33A. Section 65 of the Value Added Tax Act is amended by inserting the words “and exported goods” immediately after the words “imported taxable goods”.

Hon. Chairman, move the Second Reading of the new clause.

I beg to move that the new clause 33A be now read a Second Time.

Hon. Wanjala, you cannot have a point of order when the clause has not even been moved.

Amendment of section 65 of Cap. 476.

(Question, that the new clause be added to the Bill, put and agreed to)

Reject the Bill! Reject the Bill!

Hon. Wanjala, what is your point of order? You are not being given an opportunity. Clause 36

Mover.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 36 and substituting therefor the following new clause:

On a point of order, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Wanjala, what is your point of order? Tell your team to allow you to speak.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Members, be orderly.

Hon. Chairlady, you have seen what has happened in the House. Hon. Shakeel Shabbir was very orderly, just carrying a placard. How can the Orderlies grab and mishandle an honourable Member in the House who was not violent and

neither fighting anybody? You want to allow that? Kwa nini mnatufanya namna hiyo? You are very stupid! Why are they handling Members like that?

Hon. Wanjala, I have heard you. Yes, the Member was out of order. You cannot picket in the House. You can picket outside the precincts of Parliament.

Let us proceed.

Reject the Bill!

Hon. Members, you are out of order. You cannot sing in the House.

Clause 39

Mover.

THAT, Clause 39 of the Bill be deleted. This is a deletion of this provision. This Committee recommends that manufacturers be allowed to deduct excise duty on their raw materials so that we can continue to make our locally manufactured goods competitive in Kenya and the region.

With that, I beg to move, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Members, Clause 39 had two other amendments by Hon. Wakili and Hon. Ngusya. Since the amendment by the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning has been carried then, their amendments fall.

(Proposed amendment by Hon. Charles Nguna dropped The next one.

Mover, proceed.

THAT, Clause 41 of the Bill be amended by deleting the words “five working days” and substituting therefor the following new words “by the fifth day of the following month” There was a provision that excise duty be paid within 24 hours but the manufacturers dealing with alcoholic beverages said this would lead to an additional cost for working capital. Therefore, we recommend...

Hold on, Hon. Chairperson. I have noticed that there was an amendment by Hon. Ngusya to delete and substitute the entire clause. So, let us allow Hon. Ngusya and then we come back to you. Hon. Ngusya are you ready? Okay, he is not here. Therefore, his amendment is dropped. So, you may proceed, Hon. Chairperson.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I was moving Clause 41 which was requiring manufacturers of alcoholic beverages to remit their excise duty within 24 hours. This was seen as very detrimental to their working capital. The Committee proposed an amendment to this clause so that excise duty is paid in the fifth day of the following month, therefore, releasing working capital to those manufacturers so that they can continue doing their business of manufacturing and employing our young people.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Hon. Oundo, Member for Funyula had an amendment also. Since the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning’s amendment has been carried, that one falls. Let us proceed.

Clause 42

Mover.

THAT, Clause 42 of the Bill be amended-

country become expensive. Therefore, we are using sin tax to make sure we continue to keep our young people safe and healthy. So, the non-filtered cigarettes that are very harmful to the human body become expensive.

This proposal to delete the introduction of excise duty on vegetable oils is in line with ensuring that we retain the cost-of-living low by making sure there is no increase in taxation on food items.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to)

Hon. Members, I want to notify you that Hon. Kaluma has an amendment to the same clause. I will give him an opportunity if he is here. Okay, he is not here.

He is here.

Hon. Kaluma you had an amendment on Clause 42. Okay, it seems he does not wish to speak to it.

We also have Hon. Wangwe but he is not desirous to speak or is absent.

There is also an amendment by Hon. Mwenje but he gave a formal withdrawal letter. I will allow him to comment.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady. I want to withdraw the amendment. In solidarity with all the Kenyans out there and Generation Z, I withdraw my amendment and reject the Finance Bill, 2024.

Hon. Mwenje has withdrawn his proposed amendment.

Yes, Hon. Mbadi. What is it? You are time-barred. You were in the House and I gave you an opportunity to speak but you declined. We will proceed. That matter is closed. We have already put the Question and ruled on it.

Mover.

THAT, Clause 43 of the Bill be amended in paragraph

(a)

by inserting the words “the Defence Forces Welfare Services” immediately after the words “National Intelligence Services”; This provides for our hard-working soldiers, the Kenya Defence Forces

(KDF)

. Previously, Defence Forces Canteen Organisation

(DEFCO)

was exempt from tax. But it has now been amended to Defence Forces Welfare Services. This is the welfare service for our KDF who sacrifice their lives to save this nation. We have seen what the Fund has done, including building Ulinzi Sports Arena along Lang’ata Road. Therefore, we propose that this exemption be extended to them just as we have done to the National Intelligence Service

(NIS)

.

(Question, that the words to be inserted

be inserted, put and agreed to)

Clause 44

Mover.

Hon. Kawanjiku and Hon. Osoro, give the Chairman a break so that he can move the amendments.

THAT, Clause 44 of the Bill be amended in paragraph

(a)

by deleting the expression “three” and substituting therefor the expression “three point five”;

(Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

The amendment by Hon. Caroli was dropped because it falls under Article 114 of the Constitution.

Mover.

THAT, Clause 45 of the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed new section 7B and substituting therefor the following new clause Eco levy.

7B. (1) There shall be paid a levy to be known as the eco levy on the finished goods imported into Kenya specified in the Fourth Schedule imported into Kenya.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

Hon. Members, I would like to let you know that Hon. Farah had an amendment to Clause 45 but he has sent a formal letter withdrawing that amendment. Hon. Oundo also had an amendment but it falls under Article 144.

Clause 46

Mover.

THAT, the Bill be amended in Clause 46-

Hon. Members, we also had an amendment by Hon. Wario but it collapsed pursuant to Article 114 of the Constitution.

Hon. Kuria Kimani, you should not give directions from your seat. You are the one who directed that I use the other microphone but you have now changed your mind. Okay, we will get on with it. Clause 47

Mover.

THAT, the Bill be amended in the proposed new Third Schedule—

Hon. Members, this is for your attention because some Members are coming here to ask. Although the amendment by Hon. Umulkher Harun is automatically falling pursuant to Article 114 of the Constitution, we have just received a written withdrawal letter from her.

Hon. Kaluma,

do you want to speak? Your amendment also falls pursuant to Article 114 of the Constitution. The same happens to the amendment by Hon. Kawanjiku and Hon. Ngusya. The amendment by Hon. Mwenje was formally withdrawn.

Clause 48

Mover.

THAT, the proposed Fourth Schedule in Clause 48 of the Bill be amended-

excluding raw material. This is where we are providing the rates for the Eco Levy that I had explained earlier. I beg to move.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to)

Hon. Chairman, please move Second Reading.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move the new Clause 44A.

Hon. Chairman, have you read it a Second Time?

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the new Clause 44A be now read a Second Time.

(Question, that the new clause be read a Second Time, put and agreed to) (Question, that the new clause be added to the Bill, put and agreed to) Hon. Harun had an amendment in the new Clause 44A, but she has formally withdrawn. (Proposed amendment by Hon. Umulkher Harun withdrawn) New Clause 45A

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after Clause 45- Amendment of the First Schedule to Cap. 469C.

45A. The First Schedule to the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act is amended by deleting the item of “Iron ores and concentrates, including roasted iron pyrites” by inserting the words “excluding Magnetite” at the end thereof.

Hon. Chairman, please move Second Reading.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the new Clause 45A be now read a Second Time.

Put the Question.

Before I put the Question, I want to notify the House that Hon. Mwashako has an amendment, but he has formally withdrawn it.

(Question, that the new clause be

added to the Bill, put and agreed to)

Reject the clauses!

You cannot reject clauses that do not have amendments. Clauses 49 and 50 do not have amendments.

Mover.

THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 51 and substituting therefor the following new clause- Amendment of section

23A of Cap. 469.

This will remove the responsibility of registration of e-TIMS from the taxpayer to the traders who have turnover of less than Ksh1 million and subsistence farmers.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

For notification to the House, Hon. Mwenje has an amendment on Clause 51, but he has withdrawn it.

Clause 52

THAT, Clause 52 of the Bill be amended−

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

I notify the House that Hon. Omondi Caroli had an amendment to Clause 52 but was dropped pursuant to Article 114 of the Constitution.

Clause 53

THAT, Clause 53 of the Bill be amended by deleting paragraph

(c)

. This proposed amendment is seeking to make provisions for the lifting of an agency notice where taxes have been paid in full in execution of a court order to cure ambiguity with respect to the validity of the agency notices, and further protect taxpayers.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Clause 54

THAT, Clause 54 of the bill be amended by deleting paragraph (a) and substituting therefor the following paragraph-

Hon. Oundo was amending paragraph B. Is he present?

Hon. Chairlady, I am ready to withdraw the amendments. What is in the Order Paper is mischievous. It seems like a faulty process.

Hon. Oundo, I gave you an opportunity but your amendment had already fallen pursuant to Article 114.

Clause 55

THAT, Clause 55 of the Bill be amended in the proposed subsection

(1)

by inserting the words “including instalment taxes and input Value Added Tax” immediately after the words “future tax liabilities”.

Clause 56

THAT, Clause 56 of the Bill be amended by deleting paragraph

(a)

. This amendment is seeking to cure the potential abuse and unfairness to the taxpayer who has taken time to lodge an objection.

(Question, that the words to be left

out be left out, put and agreed to)

Clause 57

THAT, Clause 57 of the Bill be amended-

(1C) The provisions of subsection (1A) shall only apply to a business whose turnover exceeds eight million shillings.

proposed subsection (5) and substituting therefor the words “five hundred thousand”

proposed sub-section (6) and substituting therefor the words “five hundred thousand”. It is providing for reverse tax invoices to protect our small and medium enterprises and our subsistence farmers, and also to reduce the Ksh2 million penalty which was meant to be other conviction because the penalty was too punitive.

(Question of the amendment proposed) (Question, that the words to be inserted be inserted, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to)

THAT, Clause 60 of the Bill be amended by inserting the words “excluding an employee outside Kenya working for the national carrier” immediately after the word “Kenya”.

Put the Question.

Sorry, I am distracted by the singing.

New Clause 52A

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after Clause 52— 52A. Section 37E of the Tax Procedures Act is amended—

I call upon the Mover to move the Second Reading of New Clause 52A.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the new Clause 52A be now read a Second Time.

This seeks to extend the tax amnesty that is expiring on 30th June 2024 to 31st March 2025. When the Finance Act of 2023 introduced tax amnesty, 1,058,734 taxpayers applied for amnesty, with a principal tax of Ksh42 billion. So far, and through that amnesty programme, Ksh31.2 billion has been paid by the taxpayers while Ksh10.7 has to be paid by 30th June 2024. The extension of this tax amnesty gives more time to Kenyans who have an outstanding principal tax, such that when they pay it, they are forgiven of their penalties and interests. This is a big relief for Kenyans who were worried and seeking tax amnesty. We are therefore extending this tax amnesty to 31st March 2025.

With that, I beg to move that the new clause be now read a Second Time.

Clause 61

THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 61.

Clause 63 Amendment of section 37E of Cap.469B

THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 63. Hon. Chairlady, this provision was exempting KRA from the Data Protection Act. This would have affected the privacy of Kenyans and that is why the Committee proposes its deletion. We do not want KRA to spy on our phones or bank accounts. We need to retain the privacy of Kenyans.

(Question, that the words to be left out

be left out, put and agreed to)

Hon. Kwenya Thuku, Hon. Makau and Hon. Oundo had similar amendments which now fall because the Committee’s amendments have been carried.

New Clause 62A

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after clause 62− Amendment of section 25 of Cap.387 62A. Section 25 of the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act is amended in subsection (2) by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph (b) − Cap.469C

I call upon the Mover to move the Second Reading of New Clause 62A.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the new Clause 62A be now read a Second Time.

This is to provide for the establishment of the eco levy established under section 7B of the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act to restore our environment.

(Question, that the new clause be read

a Second Time, proposed) (Question, that the new clause be read a Second Time, put and agreed to) (Question, that the new clause be added to the Bill, put and agreed to) New Clause 63A

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after clause 63- 63A. Section of the Public Finance Management Act is amended-

Hon. Members, I call upon the Mover to move Second Reading of the New Clause 63A.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the New Clause 63A be now read a Second Time.

This is a provision of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, to make sure our debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) anchor ceiling remains as per the provisions of our Constitution.

New Clause 64A Amendment of section 50 of Cap. 412A.

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after Clause 64- 64A. Section 13 of the Kenya Revenue Authority Act is amended -

Commissioners as may be deemed necessary.

I call upon the Mover to move Second Reading of the new clause 64A.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the New Clause 64A be now read a Second Time.

Deputy Commissioners are operational officers who should not necessarily be appointed by the Board but who should be competently appointed by the Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority.

Reject! Reject! New Clause 66

THAT, the Bill be amended by inserting the following new clause immediately after Clause 65-

I call upon the Mover to move Second Reading of the New Clause 66.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the new clause 66 be now read a Second Time. Amendment of section 13 of Cap.

Reject the Bill! Clause 1

Mover.

THAT, Clause 1 of the Bill be amended –

I now call upon the Mover to report.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move that the House reports its consideration of the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 30 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 30 of

Mover.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee in the said Report. I also request Hon. Joseph Makilap to second the

Motion for agreement with the Report of the Committee of the whole House.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I second.

Hon. Rindikiri.

Put the Question.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the

The Member for Kiambaa.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I want to second what Hon. Rindikiri has said. I also want to move my amendments on Clause 42 by inserting the following item immediately after item 1 (a) , deleting the...

Order, Hon. Kawanjiku. Second the Motion first.

I second.

Put the Question.

Hon. Members, we are going back to the Committee of the whole House.

Hon. Members, we have gone back to the Committee of the whole House. Mover, Hon. Leah Sankaire. We are back at recommittal, so, you need to move your amendments again. Clause 34

THAT, Clause 34 of the Bill is amended by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph

(T)

−

(Ta)

by inserting the following new paragraphs immediately after paragraph 81− 81A. Pla Bio Plastic Film of tariff number 3920.10.99. 81B. Pla Bio Plastic Film of tariff number 3920.79.10. 81C. Airlaid paper of tariff number 4818.89.00. 81D. Release paper without gum of tariff 4811.49.00 81E. Release paper with gum of tariff 4811.49.00. 81F. Construction glue

(Hot melt)

of tariff 3506.99.00. 81G. Positioning glue

(Hot melt)

of tariff 3506.99.00. 81H. Tissue Bio Sap Sheet

(65mm)

of tariff 4818.89.00. 81I. Adhesive structural of tariff 3506.99.00. 81J. Bio pouch

(10pads pack)

of 3920.69.99. 81K. Airlaid tissue paper of tariff 4818.90.00

Let us now go to Hon. Rindikiri.

THAT, Clause 34 of the Bill be amended in paragraph (b) subparagraph (ii) by inserting the words “, insurance brokerage” immediately after the word “insurance” I am moving this amendment because if we charge VAT on insurance brokerage services, the premiums are already factored in at Section 70 of the Insurance Act. The premium system cannot be vatable.

Thank you, Hon. Chairlady.

Hon. Chairperson.

Hon. Chairlady, we are in agreement with this particular amendment proposed by Hon. Rindikiri. We need to continue making sure that insurance services are penetrable in the country. Our penetration of insurance service remains the lowest in this region. Therefore, this amendment to remove introduction of VAT on insurance brokerage services is a thing for the insurance sector. Therefore, the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning supports this amendment.

I now call upon the Chairperson.

Hon. Chairlady, with recommittal of this Clause and the amendment as proposed by Hon. Rindikiri which the Committee agrees with, I beg to move:

THAT, Clause 34 of Bill be amended-

THAT, Clause 42 be amended—

Description

Rate of Excise Duty imported roofing tiles coated with acrylic paint and weather side coated with natural sand granules of tariff heading 7308.90.10

10% imported roofing tiles of tariff heading 7308.90.99 and 6905.10.0 10% imported stones coated tiles of tariff heading 6905.99.00

10% imported roofs and roofing frameworks of tariff heading

Imported uncoated kraft paper and paperboard of tariff numbers 4804.11.00, 4804.31.00 and 4804.21.00 excluding uncoated kraft paper and paperboard originating from East African Community Partner States that meet the East African Community Rules of Origin

25% Molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar of tariff no. 1703 Provided that the excise duty shall not be imposed where eighty per cent of the molasses produced by a person is transferred to a manufacturer of ethanol licensed in Kenya

44,250 per tonne

(Question of the amendment proposed)

I will give the chance to the Chairperson. Please sit. I will first finish with Hon. Kawanjiku until a certain point and then I will give you a chance, unless you want to comment.

I will not comment.

Okay. Let us proceed.

(Question, that the words to be left out be left out, put and agreed to) (Question, that the words to be inserted in place thereof be inserted, put and agreed to) Hon. Chairman, it is your turn to move your amendment.

Hon. Chairlady, this House agrees with Hon. Kawanjiku’s amendment in Clause 42.

Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move: THAT, Clause 42 of the Bill be amended-

African Community Partner States that meet the East African Community Rules of Origin. 25% or sh. 150 per kilogramme, whichever is higher (BD) by deleting the item of description “Imported plates of plastic of tariff heading

(BC) by deleting the item of description “Imported paper or paper board, labels of all kinds whether or not printed of tariff heading 4821.10.00 and 4821.90.00” and the corresponding rate and substituting therefor the following new item− Imported paper or paper board, labels of all kinds whether or not printed of tariff heading 4821.10.00 and

(xx) by deleting item (C); (xxi) by deleting item (D) and substituting therefor the following new paragraph-

Hon. Kawanjiku is the Mover. Hon. Njuguna Kawanjiku (Kiambaa, UDA) : Hon. Chairlady, I beg to move:

THAT, Clause 47 be amended in the proposed new Third Schedule in the proposed Tariff No. 7207.11.00, under the tax description “Billets”, by deleting the expression “10%” appearing in the third column and substituting therefor the expression “15%”.

Hon. Chairperson, do you have any comment?

Hon. Chairperson, move your amendments.

THAT, the Bill be amended in the proposed new Third Schedule—

Mover of the Bill. You may now report.

I beg to move that the Committee does report to the House its consideration of the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No.30 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments.

(Question put and agreed to)

Order, Hon. Rozaah, take your seat. The mother of the House, Hon. Millie, take your seat. Chairperson of the Committee.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Finance Bill (National Bill No.30 of 2024) and approved the same with amendments.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee in the said Report. I request the Hon. Vice-Chair, Ambassador Langat, to second the Motion for agreement to the Report of the Committee of the Whole House

Hon. Members, I now propose the Question…. Sorry. Who is seconding? Hon. Benjamin.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

I beg to second.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to second.

Thank you.

Order, Members. Take your seats.

Put the Question.

I put the Question?

Division! Division!

Order. Take your seats. We do not need to count the numbers. That is overwhelming. I order that the Division Bell be rung for five minutes.

Order, Hon. Members. Take your seats. Order!

(Bars were drawn)

Hon. Millie, go and sit down. Serjeant-at-Arms, you may now draw the Bar and lock the doors. Hon. Rindikiri, Hon. Oundo, Hon. Millie and Hon. Passaris take your seats. Hon. Members, we are going into a Division as claimed by the Leader of Minority Party. As I advised you last week, when we are voting, the Standing Orders do not permit any Member to walk around the Chamber. Remain in your seats and remain silent except when you are called out to vote.

Under our Standing Orders, there are only three votes: ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Abstention’. Any other phrases that are strange to the Standing Orders from either side will be counted as spoilt votes. You either vote ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘abstain’. You have no other words of English available to you in this vote.

Order, Hon. Wanjala. If you say that, the vote is spoilt. Anybody who says, “Yes, I support the Finance Bill 2024” will have their vote spoilt.

Anyone who says, “No, I reject the Finance Bill 2024” will also have their vote spoilt.

Order, Hon. Wanjala! Read your Standing Orders. It is entirely up to you to cause your vote to be rejected or to have it as a valid vote. It is entirely up to you.

Can the Majority and Minority Whips prepare to give me the names of tellers. Yes, Hon. Wandayi.

Hon. Speaker, I hear you and I am happy that we are going to vote verbally. The last time we voted here on Thursday, there was serious confusion. This is because some Members’ voices were not being heard and the media reported wrongly. Today, I want to plead with you that the Office of the Clerk avails enough portable microphones for the Members’ voices to be heard.

(Applause) We are in a hurry because we need to join the Generation Z out there. We want to finish voting quickly and join them. They are eagerly waiting for us.

(Hon. Millie Odhiambo- Mabona spoke off the record)

Order. Order, Hon. Millie. Take your seat. I want to encourage you to be a good example to your juniors. Hon. Members, if you observe your Standing Orders, like you did last week, any Member even at the far-end who voted ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was being heard. I heard them. Secondly, avoid appearing to be assisting others to vote. This is because there is no provision in law for that. Once a Member is called, they stand up, vote and sit down. Thirdly, I want to repeat, there are only three available words for your vote – ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘abstain’. Whips give me your tellers, two each. If you want to spoil your vote it is open to you. Get me the Whips.

Order, Hon. Wanjala. Order. Even if you whisper and you are recorded… If you have a microphone next to you and it is working, use it. No microphone will be circulated around. Where are the Whips? Hon. Junet give me your tellers.

Order, Hon. Mwago. Put your hand down. Yes, Hon. Junet.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Before I give you our tellers, I want to seek your indulgence. This is not the first time we are voting manually or verbally. We have done this before and we will do so with decorum. You have clearly stated there are only three votes here – ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘abstain’. Those of us who need a microphone should be assisted. Even in polling stations voters are assisted; those who do not know how to read and write.

We will deal with it on a case-by-case basis. It will not be a general rule.

Our agents are Hon. Wuod Chief Owino and Hon. Kibagendi.

Order, Hon. Members. Who are your agents?

Hon. Owino and Hon. Kibagendi.

Let them take their positions. Order, Hon. Babu Owino. You should be ashamed of yourself. How can you shout that the Speaker is out of order? Under which Standing Order? Let us not have any unnecessary tantrums. Yes, Hon. Otiende Amollo.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to draw your attention to the First Schedule of the Standing Orders and raise two points. First of all, it is in

respect to a ruling you gave earlier, where you directed that the Leader of the Majority Party liaises with the Inspector-General (IG) in respect of those who may have been abducted, including Mr. Ernest Nyerere who is the Personal Assistant to the President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). Given the importance of this matter, I beg that the Leader of the Majority Party gives us a status update on all the Kenyans who were abducted before we vote.

In terms of the First Schedule, I crave that you guide that the vote of a Member is not personal. That is why it cannot be a choice of whether they speak on the microphone or not. We are here as delegates of our constituents and you should direct that everyone votes publicly and loudly using the microphone.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

Order. Hon. Otiende Amollo, on the first point of order, I directed that the Leader of the Majority Party liaises with the police but he has not reported back. Once we draw the Bar and go into voting, we cannot transact any other business. I give you my commitment that once we finish the voting, I will revert to that matter.

An

Use Standing Order 1.

We only use Standing Order 1 when a matter is not provided for. On the question of how you vote, the Constitution says that the power of the people of this country is exercised by themselves, but they choose to exercise it through their elected representatives, who are yourselves.

Order, Hon. Millie Odhiambo.

Order, Hon. Were. Clerk-at-the-Table, get ready and let us start voting.

Hata wewe Mhe. Kasalu unapiga kelele kwa Chamber?

Order, maintain silence. Hold on, Clerk-at-the-Table. Yes, Junet.

Hon. Speaker, we still seek your indulgence. Because we are very many in this House and all Members are available, we cannot hear ourselves properly. Allow us to use the microphone so that people can be heard loud and clear voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We are insisting; we are not asking and we are not begging. It is not a favour. Do not joke with us here.

(Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah, Hon. Julius Melly and

Hon. Junet Mohamed consulted loudly)

Order, Hon. Ichung’wah and Hon. Melly. Order, Hon. Members. Take your seats.

Hon. Members, the mode of voting is a discretion of Hon. Speaker. If I had directed you to vote electronically, we would have been done in 15 minutes. I consulted your leadership who preferred that we do it manually. Having agreed with Leader of the Majority Party and Leader of the Minority Party—and this is how we voted last week—I direct the Clerk-at-the-Table that when you are called out, he presses your microphone, you vote and sit down.

Order, Members.

Oder, Hon. Rozaah Buyu. This is not a rally, but a House of Parliament. Take your seat. Order, Hon. Members.

Order, Hon. Mbadi. I do not need any congratulations.

Order, Hon. Members. I repeat that your microphone will be switched on. If you go beyond ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘abstain’, your vote will be invalid. It is as simple as that. Your agents are so directed. Go ahead now.

Order, Hon. Obiri. I have told you how you will vote very clearly. Who does not know that you represent Bobasi Constituency? Order, Hon. Members. Hon. Obiri, take your seat. Everybody knows you represent Bobasi Constituency. We all know who you are. Just say you vote ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘abstain’. If you give any further speeches, your vote will be spoilt. Go ahead and vote.

If you are not known here, you have no business being here.

Order, Hon. Pauline Lenguris. You are out of order. Take your seat.

No, I was not called.

Just call him.

Order. Hon. Twalib, take your seat. You have invalidated your vote. Does it matter?

Order, Members. Can you now give time to the tellers to do the tally?

Tellers of the Ayes:

Hon. Martin Owino and Hon. Antoney Kibagendi. RESULTS AYES

Order, Hon. Members. Tellers can go to the Bar.

Order! Order! Tellers, go to the Bar.

Hon. Josses take your seat. Hon. Owino take your seat. Tellers, go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, the results of the Division are as follows:

Ayes – 195 Noes – 106 Abstention – 0 Spoilt – 2 Thank you.

Order, Hon. Members. Take your seats. Hon. Members, the results of that Division are as follows:

Ayes – 195 Noes – 106 Abstention – 0 Spoilt – 2 The Ayes have it.

Mover. Order.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 30 of 2024) be now read a Third Time. I ask the Vice-Chairperson to second.

Order, Hon. Members. Serjeant-at-arms, open the doors now.

Hon. Members on their feet, take your seats.

Mover.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the Finance Bill (National Assembly Bill No.30 of 2024) be now read a Third Time. I ask Hon. Lang’at to second.

(Ainamoi, UDA) : Hon. Speaker, I beg to second.

I am satisfied we have quorum.

The Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker.

Order. Those Members withdrawing from the Chamber, do so quietly. Order.

Next Order. Second Readings

Hon. Ndindi Nyoro.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the Appropriation Bill (National Assembly Bill No.33 of 2024) be now read a Second Time. I thank all Members who have been participating in this Bill. Before I call the Seconder, let me point out some of the things that we have include in the Bill. We have provided for the confirmation of all the 46,000 Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers, money for fertiliser and Universal Health Care (UHC) among many things which we debated in the Report.

I call upon the Hon. Vice Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Hon. Mary Emaase to second.

Mary Emaase.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to second.

Order. Hon. Members on their feet, take your seats.

Hon. Mukunji take your seat.

Put the Question.

Hon. Ndindi Nyoro.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bill No. 25 of 2024) be now read a Second Time.

I will put it straight that in this Financial Year 2024/2025, we have upped the resources that we are sending to our counties to Ksh400.1 billion for better service delivery to Kenyans. I request Hon. Mary Emaase to second this Bill.

Seconder.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to second.

Order, Hon. Members who are on their feet. Hon. Gakuya, take the nearest seat.

Put the Question.

Do I put the Question?

Yes.

Next Order.

(Title agreed to)

THAT, the Schedule on the Appropriation Bill, 2024 for the FY 2024/2025 be amended —

THAT, the Schedule to the Bill be amended–

Hon. Temporary Chairlady, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the House its consideration of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bill No.25 of 2024) and its approval thereof without amendments.

Order, Hon. Members.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Appropriation Bill (National Assembly Bill No.33 of 2024) and approved the same with amendments.

Mover.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the House does agree with the Committee in the said report. I request Hon. Musa Sirma, to second.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

Order, Hon. Members.

(National Assembly Bill No.33 of 2024)

Mover.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move that the Appropriation Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 33 of 2024) be now read a Third Time. I request Hon. Didmus Barasa to second.

Hon. Didmus.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

Put the Question.

Next Order. The County Allocation of Revenue Bill.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bill No.25 of

Mover.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I beg to move that the House does agree with the Committee in the said report. I request Hon. Wamumbi, Member for Mathira, to second.

Hon. Speaker, I second.

Order. Hon. Members, please be upstanding. We have exhausted the business for this morning. As we adjourn, I direct the House Business Committee, which ought to have met this morning but did not, to meet at 3.30 p.m. to determine the business for tomorrow.

Hon. Members, the time being 2.35 p.m., the House stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 26th June 2024 at 9.30 a.m.

The House rose at 2.35 p.m.

Published by Clerk of the National Assembly Parliament Buildings Nairobi