AN OVER-BURDENED TAXPAYER

On May 1, 2013 the then newly-elected president announced a 14% increment on the minimum wages which was received with a lot of jubilation by the workers who fall under this category and their union representatives. Four months down the line, I feel this was a slap in the face of the workers considering the recent changes in the taxation regime of the current government. I am cognizant of the fact that taxation is the primary source of revenue for the government but for a nation where 40% of the population is unemployed and the greater part of the 60% who are employed are on the minimum wage, the increasing tax burden could lead to some undesirable outcomes for the government.

Let me use the example of an average Kenyan worker who is solely dependently on his salary understand the various taxes that s/he has to pay even before s/he starts spending the money on his/her personal needs. The first order of business is to deduct PAYE from the salary – with the new minimum wage increment almost all employees in the formal sector are now eligible to pay PAYE. Most employers process salaries of their workers through the bank; the employee has then to pay 10% excise duty on all banking charges. From the bank, the employee rushes to his/her landlord to pay the monthly rent which some unscrupulous landlords have increased by more than 16% since the government started enforcing the law on taxation of rental income. The next stop is the supermarket where the monthly bill is expected to have gone up by more than 16% due to the enforcement of the new VAT Act. It is not even 10th but as the employee leaves the supermarket s/he is already searching his brains on how s/he will take care of his/her needs for the rest of the month. Mindless of the agonies the wanainchi are going through, various government agencies are already plotting to have NSSF contributions increased to 6% of a workers monthly earnings and the NHIF contributions increased by more than 100% of the current contributions.

I know the government has to seek revenue from all avenues in order to meet its recurrent and development expenditures but it also needs to listen to the concerns of its citizenry otherwise it will soon have a food revolution on its hands. Going by the look of things, the only motivation to employment will be to avoid idleness and not the monetary gain.

My Simplistic Governance Roadmap!

I believe the President and his deputy ("dynamic duo" à la Ubako) have a God-sent opportunity to not only reshape the destiny of this nation but to change the perspective that the international community, their detractors and the civil society have about them. If I had the chance to be either of them I would focus on a number of issues.

One of the areas that I would focus on is National Healing and Cohesion. The country underwent a very divisive campaign and electoral period and in some quarters the emotions are still very high after they lost out in the plebiscite and the subsequent petition. The nation has also since the colonial time undergone some very difficult times during which a lot of injustices were committed by the ruling elite and their cohorts. Urgent national healing is required so that the supporters of those that lost out can feel that indeed they are still part of this great Nation. I would thus recommend a Peace, Healing and Cohesion Initiative to be undertaken by the current constitutional bodies that we have in place such as NCIC, TJRC, KHREC, CAJ and NGEC. I would also ensure that the TJRC commission report is speedily received (this has already happened), released to the public in its entirety (thanks to the commission we don’t have to wait for the president to do so) and recommendations of the report put into action of course through public involvement and participation (with main political players across the divide adversely mentioned I await to see delivery of justice and reconciliation). I would also ensure that other reports by commissions of inquiry are released for public consumption and recommendations adequately addressed. As a way of addressing historical injustices and bringing about national healing, I would also embark on speedy resettlement of all genuine IDPs and ensure they are appropriately and adequately compensated for their losses.