Nairobi — Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport stated that he is willing to set up a meeting for President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga with the goal of striking a truce to settle their current differences over the Finance Bill if both parties are willing.
Speaking in Kabunde airstrip in Homa Bay County on Monday,Murkomen asserted that since President Ruto and Raila Odinga had previously worked together, there should be no barrier to their rekindling their working relationship.
"I do not see the reason why Raila Odinga and President Ruto should not be consulting more, because William Ruto was in the academy of Raila Odinga. The dream of every teacher is to have his/her student doing better than himself, whatever Raila Odinga want to tell Ruto, they should agree to meet in a palace, which I can even arrange then we talk" he said.
"If you see William Ruto standing tall, he's because he is standing on the shoulders of a giant called Raila Odinga.So there must be a way of closing ranks. And because Raila has done so well in many of us am sure he is proud to see us excelling in politics.There is no way as a country we can succeed to build our nation if we're fighting each other."
The CS stated that that the Head of State and the Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga should consult each other on a wide range of issues touching on national development.
He added that President Ruto had learned the political ropes from the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya chief, so his ascent to the country's top seat is also a testament to the opposition leader's political prowess.
Murkomen added that the Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga should be the last person to castigate the Finance Bill 2023.
He argued that most proposals especially the housing levy where the government wants to deduct three per cent to finance construction of affordable houses for Kenyans were first suggested by Raila.
Murkomen said Raila had such a proposal in his manifesto during the campaign period and he would have implemented it had he succeeded in his quest to be president.
"I don't see any reasons why leaders should not have common ground on the current Finance Bill. The housing levy proposal was initiated by Raila and he campaigned with it in his manifesto, it is only that the other one won and the other one will try again 2027(Referring to Ruto and Raila respectively)," he said.
The CS said he knows that whereas Raila is opposed to the Bill, he is privately happy because the idea was borrowed from his manifesto.
"I know even if he (Raila) criticizes the Bill, when he goes back to the house he confirms in his heart that the proposal was lifted from his manifesto," he added.
The CS said many Kenyans are facing hard economic times and it would be prudent if leaders agreed to work together and address the challenges.
He told Azimio leaders not to oppose the Bill just because the government is headed by President Ruto.
The Finance Bill 2023 has been hit with controversy over the proposed mandatory three per cent monthly deduction from salaried Kenyans ahead of voting on the Bill by the National Assembly.
Raila and other Azimio leaders have demanded the withdrawal of the Bill on grounds that it will overburden Kenyans and asked their coalition MPs to reject it in totality.
On the other hand, President William Ruto has called on MPs especially from Kenya Kwanza side to approve the Bill on grounds that it will support economic development of the common man (the hustlers).
However, on Monday,President William Ruto succumbed to pressure and slashed the Housing Fund levy by half, from the current three percent to 1.5 percent.
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Reducing the percentage of the levy contained in the Finance Bill 2023 comes as a direct response to the widespread public outcry, with a considerable number of Kenyans expressing strong opposition to the scheme.
"The Housing Fund contribution has been reduced to 1.5% from the proposed 3%. Ruto listens," President Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party tweeted.
The National Assembly Finance Committee has been actively gathering input from stakeholders regarding the Bill, and the clause related to the housing levy garnered significant attention and debate.
The Committee is on Tuesday set to present the revised edition of the Bill for discussion in the House, marking the beginning of a lively debate that is anticipated to be highly spirited.
