Atwoli asks government to use taxes prudently to improve Kenyans' lives

COTU (K) Secretary General Francis Atwoli speaking on Saturday when he met over 2,000 shop stewards at Solidarity Building in Nairobi. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

Central Organisation of Trade Union(COTU -K) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has asked the government to prudently use the money that will be earned from taxes to improve the living standards of Kenyans.

He was speaking in reference recently passed Finance Act, 2023 which lays out various taxes that were to be effective starting July 1.

Court has however stopped its implementation on Friday until a case filed against it is heard and determined.

They include a housing tax at 1.5 per cent from an employee's salary, fuel tax from eight per cent to 16 per cent and 15 per cent on content creators.

Atwoli said there is no need taxing Kenyans and yet they do not enjoy the fruits that come from taxation.

''Taxation is not bad but we should see the work that taxation is doing so that when it rains, you do not walk on muddy roads to soil your well shined shoes, there are tiles on pavements and walkways to walk on among others,'' said Atwoli.

He spoke on Saturday when he meet with over 2,000 shop stewards drawn from all affiliated unions of COTU (K) at Solidarity Building in Nairobi.

In trade unionism, a shop steward is a representative elected or appointed by union members in a particular workplace or "shop" to act as a liaison between the workers and the union.

The shop steward's primary role is to protect and promote the interests of the workers they represent, ensuring that their rights are respected and advocating for improved working conditions, fair treatment, and adherence to labour agreements.

Atwoli thanked the President for increasing salaries of public servants and called on other general secretaries from other unions to engage with their employers to renegotiate for better terms.

"I want to thank the President for increasing the salaries for civil servants," said Atwoli.

Atwoli also called for reduction of power high costs, which he said is stifling manufacturing.

"We must go back to manufacturing and export considering Nairobi is a satellite in the region. If we had started early, we would have been a producer and not a net importer like we are now and service our neighbouring countries," said Atwoli.

He called for improvement of airports to boost tourism through increase of runways at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport(JKIA) and Mombasa International Airport to receive more direct international flights.

''There is need to have a bigger airport in the South Rift and Nyeri in Central region to open up those areas. This must include Isiolo for tourism, unlike now where we only have small airstrips where tourists can fly in from Europe and fly direct to these areas without landing in Nairobi or Mombasa,''