NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 12- Kipkelion East Member of Parliament Joseph Limo says the government should review all the taxes and levies imposed on petroleum products so as to facilitate the reduction of high fuel and electricity costs in the country.
Speaking to Capital News, Limo who is a member of the National Assembly Energy Committee, said Kenyans should not be punished through unnecessary levies and taxes.
“We should only retain those ones which are standard and acceptable worldwide which include customs duty, VAT and Road Development levy. All these other levies by other bodies making Kenyans miserable should be removed,” he said.
“All the other parastatals and government agencies which depend on levies on petroleum should be funded through the normal government budgetary allocation,” he said.
The former Finance Committee Chairperson further called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to crack the whip on the Kenya Power Board, blaming it for the high costs of electricity.
“The problem is the Board of Directors. They have their own interest and are running the company as if they are the board and the management at the same time. The government and in this context the president should just crack the whip and remove all the board members,” he said.
Last week, the government declared Kenya Power a special project and an inter-ministerial committee was set up to oversee urgent reforms
The announcement was made by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi after a meeting with Kenya Power management and staff.
“Our bills are unsustainable as they are today. We cannot continue this way,” Matiangi said.
A multi-agency team comprising the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Financial Reporting Center, Assets Recovery Authority and other investigative agencies was also formed to investigate alarming system losses.
The committee will also audit procurement practices, insider trading, conflict of interest and suspect transactions involving Kenya Power staff and others.