Molo Member of Parliament Kimani Kuria has revealed that he received Ksh168,000 from Kenyans who were confirming his phone number after it was leaked online.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, Kuria says he tried reversing the money to the senders but it was impossible.
“I have written to the clerk wondering what to do with the Ksh168,000 that was sent to my M-Pesa because receiving these gifts from members of the public is against the laws of this republic. I tried reversing the Ksh1, the Ksh2 and it was impossible because it came in hundreds of thousands. For your generosity Kenyans, I want to thank you and tell you that your views are well received,” he said.
“Although these people breached the Data Protection Act by sharing our numbers to Kenyans, I want to thank Kenyans that wrote us through SMS, that called us and some of them were generous enough to send us Ksh1, Ksh2 and Ksh10 to confirm whether our numbers are authentic.”
Earlier this week, ahead of the tabling of the Finance Bill 2024 in Parliament, Kenyans online shared phone numbers of MPs urging members of the public to pressurise their MPs to vote against the Bill.
Kuria put to task
Kuria was on Wednesday put to task to explain tax proposals in the Bill, some which had been scrapped or amended such as the Eco Levy, the Vehicle Circulation Tax and 16 per cent VAT on bread.
On the Eco Levy, which will be applied on imported products, Kuria said more manufacturers are willing to pay the levy to conserve the environment.
“It is important to mention that the responsibility of the payment of this Eco Levy is not on the consumer, it is on the manufacturer in that country of origin. Most of these larger manufacturers are more than willing to pay this Eco Levy to make sure that the products they produce are able to be collected at the end of the life to be reused or recycled,” he explained.
Kuria, who chairs the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Budget, defended the Bill as a necessary move for the government to collect enough revenues for the 2024/2025 budget.
“As we robustly engage on the conversation about the Finance Bill and critique it, it must be realised that this Bill aims to collect around Ksh346 billion only from a proposed Ksh3.9 trillion. We, therefore, request this House, our departmental committees and Kenyans in the public to interrogate the expenditure side of this Budget as they are interrogating the financing side,” he said.
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