Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has urged the Kenya Kwanza government to listen to the concerns raised by citizens in the country.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, the Senator voiced his opposition to the housing levy imposed by the government.
He noted that the government had clearly ignored the voice of people complaining against the weight of the housing levy amid the financial constraints facing them.
According to him, Kenya Kwanza’s failure to back down on the taxes was a sign of a disconnection between the struggle of citizens and the intentions of the government.
“I don’t understand why the government has just refused totally to listen to the people even in the public participations,” Sifuna stated.
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“The biggest problem for us has always remained the state of the Kenyan people in terms of their ability to be able to bear more taxes.”
Sifuna Commends the Public
Sifuna went on to commend the people of Nairobi for their unified rejection of the housing levy during the public participation exercise recently held at the KICC.
“I am very proud of the people of Nairobi who showed up at KICC to speak to that committee,” Senator Sifuna stated.
“The people were very clear in their minds and in their submissions that this housing Levy is something that they do not want.”
The Big Question
In his submissions, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party Secretary General also expressed his objection to the plans of introducing new avenues like toll stations on roads.
Sifuna emphasized that such initiatives would have far-reaching effects and raised concerns about the decision-making process within the government.
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Furthermore, he warned the head of state against ignoring court decisions and stressed the urgent need for the restoration of the supremacy of the people in Kenya’s governance.
“We have heard here head of state himself saying that the housing project is going to go on irrespective of the decisions of the court,” he remarked.
“We want common sense to return, we want the supremacy of the people of Kenya to return in governance of this country.”
According to Senator Sifuna, Kenya is not only struggling with economic hardships but also with implications of policies detached from realities of citizen lives.
