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Temporary Speaker Jessica Mbalu (Kibwezi East) had a hectic time presiding over proceedings after Kimunya and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wah were involved in an altercation/CFM

BUDGET

Sh2.075tn budget ceiling proposal triggers anger in divided House

NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 24 — Business in the National Assembly was briefly disrupted on Thursday after MPs engaged in shouting matches and name-calling during the debate on the 2022/23 Budget Policy Statement.

Tempers flared after Majority Leader Amos Kimunya moved an amendment to the Budget and Appropriations Committee Report to approve the National Government budget ceiling at Sh2.075 trillion of which the Executive would have its budget capped at Sh2 trillion.

Temporary Speaker Jessica Mbalu (Kibwezi East) had a hectic time presiding over proceedings after Kimunya and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah were involved in an altercation.

The House bust into a shouting match as pro-handshake MPs demanded that the Ichung’wah be ejected from the Chamber for using unparliamentary language.

During the incident Kimunya who still had the floor could be heard telling his Kikuyu counterpart, “The amendment has not been proposed, shut up!”

It is at this point that Ichung’wah responded: “You cannot tell me to shut up, I am not your son. Stupid!”

The chaos ensued for close to one and half hours as Ichung’wah remained adamant that he will not retract his remarks which he said were not captured on Hansard and that were triggered by the Kimunya’s motion which he argued would see the House increase the debt ceiling beyond the set limit of Sh9 trillion.

United Democratic Alliance-allied MPs later staged a walkout after they lost their bid to allocate Sh50 billion in the budget towards the creation of a “Hustlers’ Fund”.

Deputy Speaker Moses Cheboi shot down the proposals as he guided that they will be considered in the Budget Policy Statement under which estimates are reviewed.

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Ichung’wah and fellow MPs Wilson Sossion (Nominated) and Owen Baya (Kilifi North) had sought to set up a Sh50 billion kitty to go towards supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MPs also lost their bid for a Sh1.5 billion livestock off-take fund and Sh2 billion for drought mitigation as well as the bid for fertilizer subsidy to reduce the price to Sh2,500 for a 50-kg bag.

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