Latest news with #JohnMbadi
Zawya
23-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya parliament passes proposed 2025 finance law
Kenya's parliament on Thursday voted to approve this year's proposed finance law, denying the revenue authority's request to get unrestricted access to taxpayers' data on account of privacy concerns and constitutional safeguards. The government is under pressure to avoid a repeat of last year's unrest after protests against proposed tax hikes led to over 60 deaths and forced President William Ruto to abandon plans to raise 346 billion shillings in taxes. Lawmakers voted by acclamation to approve this year's law, clearing the way for President Ruto to sign and approve it. Kenya's parliamentary finance committee rejected on Monday a proposal that would have granted the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) the access to the data. The provision included in this year's finance bill had drawn a public backlash over alleged privacy violations. The committee said existing laws allowed KRA to access financial data with a court warrant, rendering the proposal unnecessary. Finance Minister John Mbadi last week presented to parliament a 4.29 trillion-shilling ($33bn) budget for the 2025/26 (July-June) fiscal year. This year's finance law aims to raise an extra 30 billion shillings ($233m), mainly through boosting tax compliance. ($1 = 129.0000 Kenyan shillings)
Reuters
19-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Kenya parliament passes proposed 2025 finance law
NAIROBI, June 19 (Reuters) - Kenya's parliament on Thursday voted to approve this year's proposed finance law, denying the revenue authority's request to get unrestricted access to taxpayers' data on account of privacy concerns and constitutional safeguards. The government is under pressure to avoid a repeat of last year's unrest after protests against proposed tax hikes led to over 60 deaths and forced President William Ruto to abandon plans to raise 346 billion shillings in taxes. Lawmakers voted by acclamation to approve this year's law, clearing the way for President Ruto to sign and approve it. Kenya's parliamentary finance committee rejected on Monday a proposal that would have granted the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) the access to the data. The provision included in this year's finance bill had drawn a public backlash over alleged privacy violations. The committee said existing laws allowed KRA to access financial data with a court warrant, rendering the proposal unnecessary. Finance Minister John Mbadi last week presented to parliament a 4.29 trillion-shilling ($33 billion) budget for the 2025/26 (July-June) fiscal year. This year's finance law aims to raise an extra 30 billion shillings ($233 million), mainly through boosting tax compliance. ($1 = 129.0000 Kenyan shillings)
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Kenyan lawmakers oppose tax authority's bid for unrestricted data access
NAIROBI, June 17 (Reuters) - Kenya's parliamentary finance committee has rejected a proposal to grant the country's revenue authority unrestricted access to taxpayers' data, citing privacy concerns and constitutional safeguards, a report published late on Monday said. The provision, included in this year's finance bill, drew public backlash over alleged privacy violations. The committee said that current laws already allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to access financial data with a court warrant, rendering the proposal unnecessary. "In light of these existing safeguards, the committee concluded that the proposed provision is both unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional," the report said. Finance Minister John Mbadi has defended the measure, saying it would help curb tax evasion, particularly by wealthy individuals exploiting legal protections to conceal financial information. Mbadi was not immediately available to comment on the committee's decision. President William Ruto's government, which took office in 2022, has been trying to increase tax collection to help keep up with growing debt repayments. Last year's finance bill was followed by deadly riots against tax increases. Mbadi has said the government will not impose new taxes or raise existing ones in this year's bill. The bill, however, aims to raise an extra 30 billion shillings ($233 million), mainly through boosting tax compliance. The provision is necessary to allow the KRA access to financial information belonging to businesses and individuals, to help its officials detect any tax evasion, the minister had said. The government is under pressure to avoid a repeat of unrest over revenue measures after last year's protests against proposed tax hikes led to over 50 deaths and forced Ruto to abandon plans to raise 346 billion shillings in taxes. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill before it is sent to Ruto for approval. ($1 = 128.9500 Kenyan shillings)
Zawya
17-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya banks on Panda bond to fund SGR to Malaba
Kenya has kicked off the process of issuing its first Panda bond as it seeks to plug financing gaps ahead of extending its standard gauge railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba at the border with Uganda – a project heavily reliant on Chinese support. A Panda bond is a sovereign facility issued in the Chinese domestic market and denominated in Yuan Renminbi (RMB), targeting Chinese investors and institutions. Kenya mulls issuing it on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, seeing it as a useful path to fetch new monies for big-ticket projects. National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi says the plan is to diversify Kenya's external financing sources.'We are in the process of actualising, raising more funds through Sukuk and even the Panda bond,' Mr Mbadi told journalists after presenting the 2025/26 budget statement to Parliament on Thursday, referring to sovereign bonds issued in Arab and Chinese markets respectively.'We're diversifying. We're even going to the UAE for other bonds. We don't want to confine ourselves to specific bonds like it has been previously, because there would be serious risk in the event of certain turbulence in those particular markets.'While Mr Mbadi did not disclose the exact purpose of the Panda bond proceeds, sources familiar with the matter say the Yuan-denominated facility is specifically aimed at bridging the funding shortfall for the SGR extension project, seeking to raise at least $1.5 billion. This week, Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary, said Kenya was banking on Chinese support to ensure the bond is floated at the start of the next fiscal year.'Panda bond discussions have started and Kenya looks forward to the support of China,' he said after meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province in southern china. China has long stopped issuing concessional loans to African countries but hasbeen gradually opening up to public-private partnerships, grants and permitting foreign governments to fetch funds via sovereign bonds. Kenya had initially agreed with China to co-finance the project, each contributing 30 percent of the required funds, with a consortium of private investors expected to cover the rest. But Nairobi has since expressed difficulty in raising its share and requested additional Chinese support. During President William Ruto's state visit to Beijing in April, the two countries signed a deal to jointly finance the 475-kilometre rail from Naivasha to Malaba, where it is expected to link with Uganda's own SGR extending to Kampala. I also underscored the importance of concluding discussions on financial cooperation before the end of June 2025 as a critical step forward,' Mr Mudavadi said in a dispatch after a meeting with Wang Yi on Tuesday. Lack of a rail link between Kenya and Uganda has meant that most cargo from the Mombasa port is transported by road to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This overreliance on road transport increases both time and cost. But financing constraints in both Kenya and Uganda have long delayed efforts to complete the Naivasha–Kampala railway connection, pushing both governments to court new financiers for their respective sections. China was the key financier of the first two SGR phases—from Mombasa to Nairobi, and then from Nairobi to the Naivasha dry port—through loans from the China Export-Import (Exim) Bank. The 729-kilometre stretch was built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, a state-owned firm, at a total cost of about $5 billion. China pulled out of the Malaba extension after Naivasha, citing concerns over its commercial viability and Kenya's rising debt, which raised the risk of loan default — including on Chinese credit. After years of seeking alternative financing, Kenya returned to Beijing, leading to the April agreement in which China will finance only up to 30 percent of the costs, a sharp drop from the 90 percent it had provided for the earlier phases. The Panda bond is expected to cover part of Kenya's reduced contribution. The Treasury has also increased the railway transport budget by Ksh12.8 billion ($99 million) to Ksh38 billion ($293 million) in the 2025/26 fiscal year, up from Ksh25.2 billion ($195 million) in the current year, signalling renewed investment in the sector. If successful, Kenya would become only the second African country after Egypt to access the Chinese capital market through a Panda bond. Cairo raised $480 million via such a bond in October 2023. With concessional funding drying up — following the expiry of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in March — bonds issued in China, Japan, or the UAE appear more attractive, especially as Eurobond yields remain high. As of March, Kenya's total public debt stood at $87.8 billion about 71 percent of GDP, placing the country at high risk of debt distress. International lenders have urged Nairobi to slow down on borrowing, especially for large infrastructure projects. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Business Insider
14-06-2025
- Health
- Business Insider
HIV, TB, malaria treatment in Kenya threatened by KSh 11.4B funding reduction
Kenya's Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi presented the estimates in Parliament on Thursday, showing a drop in HIV, TB, and malaria funding from KSh 28.7 billion in the current financial year to KSh 17.3 billion. This comes after the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) withdrew their financial support earlier this year, leaving Kenya's health sector exposed to severe funding gaps. In March, the Ministry of Health indicated that KSh 13.54 billion was urgently needed to sustain HIV, TB, and malaria programs for the remainder of the year. This included KSh 7.68 billion for the procurement of essential medical commodities and KSh 5.8 billion to maintain the employment of 11,059 frontline healthcare workers. Within the new allocation, the Treasury has included contributions to the Global Fund for HIV, TB, and malaria, alongside KSh 4.6 billion for vaccines and immunization and KSh 500 million for family planning and reproductive health commodities. Concerns rise amid USAID exit However, it remains unclear whether these allocations will be sufficient to cover the funding vacuum created by the exit of USAID and PEPFAR. For years, these donor programs have played a crucial role in supporting Kenya's efforts against HIV and other communicable diseases. Their withdrawal marks a significant setback for ongoing public health interventions. Geopolitical economist Aly-Khan Satchu described the situation as a major stress test for Kenya's health infrastructure. ' To some degree, there is no HIV or vaccine program without PEPFAR,' he said. ' They are going to have to achieve this now in a shock therapy type moment.' The announcement has raised alarm among health stakeholders, who have previously appealed to the government to act swiftly in addressing the budget gap. As the new fiscal plan awaits legislative scrutiny, questions are being raised about how Kenya intends to meet its public health commitments without the financial backing it has relied on for years.
