Koskei says government will use taxes prudently

Head of Public Service Felix Koskei. [File, Standard]

Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has said the government will utilise the taxes collected under the Finance Bill 2024 prudently.

Koskei urged Kenyans to pay taxes to finance development projects that have been initiated by President William Ruto's administration.

Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony for Evelyne Cheluget, the Director General for Directorate of Immigration Services at AIC Sigot church in Nandi county, Sunday, he said that the government has a deficit of about Sh600 billion for the 2024/25 financial year budget.

"The president has initiated austerity measures to get the country out of debt and the only way to achieve that is by paying taxes. We want the country to be self-reliant and service loans amounting to billions of shillings," he said.

The Head of Public Service urged lawmakers to approve the Finance Bill 2024 when it is table in Parliament on Tuesday despite calls by Kenyans to reject it. 

He warned that corruption will not be condoned in the dispensation of government programmes and legal action will be take against civil servants found engaging in misappropriation and embezzlement of taxpayers' money.

"President Ruto has set the record clear on the fight against corruption and so, no one should worry about how the government will utilise the taxes. The directive has been sent to all public servants to shun any malicious handling and mismanagement of public resources," he said.

Koskei said that the civil servants will account for every single coin.

"We cannot allow anyone to misuse public funds and every civil servant must account for the money used in implementation of development projects. We have roads, water, health, schools among other initiatives that need to be implemented," he said..

He urged legislators to back the government to deliver on its agenda.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndun'gu tabled the Sh3.9 trillion budget estimates for 2024/25 Financial Year budget in Parliament on Thursday and Kenyans are not waiting to see whether MPs will approve the contentious Finance Bill that proposes punitive taxes.