There is an unwavering determination by the Kenya Kwanza administration to raise taxes. That is understandable considering that it needs money - a lot of money - to seal the debt hole dug by the Jubilee government and which the current regime continues to deepen. William Ruto's government also desperately needs money to implement its development plans.

That said, there should be a limit to its tax ambitions. Consider the latest revelation by the Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen of a plan to charge Kenyans for using some of our old roads ostensibly to help build new roads and maintain the existing ones.

And not only that. The CS has also hinted at the possibility of increasing the road maintenance levy. 

The proposals are preposterous considering that Kenyans have in recent months been paying a heavy price to keep their vehicles on the road due to the prevailing record-high fuel prices in extremely tough economic times.

When President Ruto took over from Uhuru Kenyatta slightly over a year ago, petrol was retailing at Sh159 per litre. Currently, it is going for Sh212 in Nairobi down from Sh217 a month ago. 

Apart from the global dynamics, the high fuel prices have been occasioned by the enactment of the Finance Bill, 2023, which increased the VAT on petroleum products from eight to 16 per cent.

Ironically, while the government hoped to gain dividends, the move had the exact opposite effect. Kenya Revenue Authority recorded a deficit of Sh12.9 billion in tax collections from the oil sector after Kenyans reduced spending on petroleum products due to the high fuel prices.

It seems the government never learns from its mistakes as Murkomen's proposals will definitely make matters worse. 

It is unconscionable for the government to mull such tax moves at a time when Kenyans, including the salaried ones and those in business can hardly make ends meet due to high taxation and a struggling economy. Mr Murkomen and the government that he serves seem to out of touch with the economic reality on the ground. The Standard

Rishi Sunak is braced for further battle in the Lords over his Bill to revive the Government’s Rwanda scheme as the legislation faces scrutiny from a number of prominent critics.

Some 71 members of the upper chamber are expected to speak at the second reading debate of the draft law on Monday. 

Among them is the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has voiced profound concerns about the plan to send asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.

Lord Carlile of Berriew, who earlier this month warned the Government is moving towards “totalitarianism” in its handling of the policy, is also due to appear.

The crossbench peer has suggested the Lords would seek to undo what he described as politicians “meddling” in the independent courts.

Mr Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill survived third reading in the Commons after the Prime Minister saw off a Tory rebellion which had sought to toughen the legislation.

MPs on the right of the party largely backed down following speculation that the draft law could be torpedoed unless amendments were made, including to ensure UK and international law cannot be used to block a person’s removal to Rwanda. 

In the end just 11 Conservatives voted against the legislation but it faces a bigger test in the Lords, where many members have expressed unease about the plan.

The PM has urged peers against blocking “the will of the people” by opposing the Bill as he faces an election year having made “stopping the boats” a key pledge of his leadership.

But first blood was drawn in the Lords last week, when peers backed by 214 votes to 171 an unprecedented move seeking to delay a treaty with the east African nation which forms part of the Government’s plan.

The unelected second chamber backed calls for Parliament to not approve the pact until ministers can show the country is safe – though unlike the Commons, which has the power to delay ratification of a treaty, the Lords can only advise.

The asylum scheme comes with a £290 million bill but a series of legal challenges has meant no flights have taken off since it was first proposed in 2022, when Boris Johnson was in Number 10.

Under the plan, people who cross the Channel in small boats could be removed to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in the UK.

The legislation, along with the recently signed treaty with Kigali, is aimed at ensuring the scheme is legally watertight after the Supreme Court ruling against it last year. Story By Nina Lloyd, Evening Standard

Muscat: Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs received here today Othman Masoud Othman Sharif, Fist Vice-President of Zanzibar and his accompanying delegation. 

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed areas of bilateral cooperation and means of enhancing them in various spheres, especially in economic and cultural fields. 

The meeting was attended by Saleh Mohammed Al Saqri, Head of the East Africa Department at the Foreign Ministry, Fatima Mohammed Rajab, Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania to the Sultanate of Oman and officials from both sides. Source, Times of Oman