Why Kimunya withdrew KRA naming Bill

Leader of Majority Amos Kimunya. [File, Standard]

Leader of Majority Amos Kimunya was yesterday forced to withdraw the Kenya Revenue Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022 following a disagreement on a proposal by Garissa Township MP Aden Duale.

The Bill was before the Committee of the Whole House and was among those proposing to rename Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to Kenya Revenue Service, but a debate between the two forced Kimunya to withdraw it. Duale wanted to amend Clause 5 of the Bill to cushion current commissioners and board members from losing their jobs.

The Bill states that a person who “immediately before the commencement of this Act, held the Office of Commissioner General, member of the Board or Commissioner shall continue to hold office only for the unexpired period of their term.”

Duale wanted the current commissioners to be in office for the unexpired period of the term, then new members be recruited.

Garissa Township MP Aden Duale. [File, Standard]

Italso proposes that a Commissioner-General shall be recruited by the Board through a competitive process and appointed by the president after approval by Parliament.

The proposed amendment states that “Commissioner-General shall hold office for a period of four years and shall be eligible for re-appointment for one further term of four years, subject to satisfactory performance.”

But this did not sit well with Kimunya who withdrew the Bill, accusing a certain political wing of trying to get rid of the current commissioners for their own personal gains.

“Chair, the issue goes beyond what is on the paper, if you see a toad running during the day, then something is chasing it. The current Commissioner General of KRA has been under constant attack by a certain group of politicians because of the stand they have taken on collection of revenue,’’ he said.

“The import of this amendment is to specifically limit the service of commissioners and the members of the board to only the unexpired term and thereafter they will not be eligible.’’

KRA Commissioner-General Githii Mburu. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

But Duale insisted that a law must be formulated so that there is a common ground for the current commission in that they do not extend their term with the thought that they are under a new system.

He argued that even if the House changes the name, then that will be a different body and therefore, insulate the current Commissioner General and the current board. That way, the name change will not affect their current status.

“I want to protect the commission from further litigation by the busybodies on the streets of Nairobi,’’ Duale said.