National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has announced that Members of parliament (MPs) will be voting on a memorandum sent by President William Ruto after rejecting Finance Bill 2024.
According to Wetangula, although the head of state rejected all the clauses in the bill, the memorandum he sent back has to be voted by the members.
Further, he said that if any members want to overturn the decision, he has to have the support of two thirds of the members of the house.
“The parliament will resume its sittings after a three-week recess. As you are aware, the president declined to sign the finance bill 2024 and sent back with a memorandum indicating that he had rejected all the clauses of the bill.
“That memorandum and rejection will also be part of the business of the house. Remember our standing orders, when the president sends a memorandum of that nature, any members who wants to overturn it must Ganner two thirds of the members of the house. About 233 members, ” he said.
At the same time, Wetangula dismissed reports that the bill was meant to become law after 14 days, saying that there is no such provision within the constitution.
“This also addresses the issue that the bill was going to be operational within 14 days of the memorandum. that is not true, and we do not have that provision, the bill is in limbo, awaiting the next step,” he added.
Also Read: Ruto Praises MPs Who Voted Yes, Plans Ksh1 trillion Loan After Finance Bill Rejection
Wetangula Addresses Way Forward on Supplementary Budget
In addition, the speaker said that the house will also be discussing the Supplementary Budget 1, which was presented following the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024.
He noted that the Finance Committee has been holding stakeholder engagement over the budget and will be presenting key findings before the house.
“Following that rejection, the government has brought supplementary budget 1, which I forwarded to the parliamentary budget and appropriations committee. It has been conducting hearings with sectors of government. A report on it will be on the floor,” explained Wetangula.
Also, the Division of Revenue Bill will be discussed by the national assembly after Ruto ordered that various government entities ensure budget cuts.
“The president also referred back the Division of Revenue Bill which shares out resources between the two levels of government. Given the shrinking past that the government has, the president has indicated that both levels must take a revenue allocation cut,” he added.
Also Read: Wetangula Gives Way Forward After Ruto Rejected Finance Bill 2024
Ruto Rejects Finance Bill 2024
In a press briefing on Wednesday, June 26, President Ruto announced that he has withdrawn the bill in entirety in line with the demands of the people.
Ruto said he would not assent to the proposal and would be holding a multisectoral stakeholder engagement within the next two weeks to discuss matters relating to the content of the bill.
The President’s speech was followed by a memorandum to Speaker Wetangula regarding his position on the bill.
Later, Wetangula referred the bill to Finance Committee for consideration since the National Assembly is on recess.
In a message to all MPs and the public, the Speaker directed the Committee to deliberate on the president’s considerations and report to the House after the break.
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