MP Mbadi claims Parliament is withholding the Finance bill

The debate on the 16% tax on all fuel products has taken a new dimension with  Suba South MP John Mbadi accusing Parliament’s leadership  of withholding the Finance Bill passed by the National Assembly last month.

Mbadi alleges that Parliament may be colluding with the executive to delay the signing of the bill into law.

The bill suspends the recently imposed tax on petroleum products for a further two years.

Mbadi spoke a day after Treasury maintained that the 16% VAT on fuel will remain in place as the government seeks other avenues to bridge the budget deficit.

Mbadi claims two weeks after Parliament passed the Finance Bill, the document is yet to reach the President for assent.

Pursuant to the National Assembly Standing Order 153, the Speaker is expected to refer a bill passed by the National Assembly  to the President for assent within seven days of its passage.

Mbadi’s allegations now brings a new twist to the matter that has drawn condemnation from Kenyans as the effects of its implementation continue to take its toll.

Treasury is in the meantime fighting accusations that it is in contempt of court after the High Court in Bungoma issued an order suspending implementation of the VAT.