By Felix Njenga
Limuru member of Parliament John Kiragu has assured residents that the Kshs 4.2 trillion national budget estimates and revenue allocation 2025/2026 bill will be thoroughly scrutinized and ensure it has captured areas of priority before being approved by Parliament.
The legislator while speaking in Limuru town at the national government constituency development fund office during issuance of empowerment money to groups and traders said that Kenyans are keen to know what has been allocated to areas of education, roads, health, MSMEs, job creation and other areas and whether their views have been well captured.
“As Limuru people’s representative it is my job that the views of the people are well captured in the budget estimates and once the cabinet secretary of finance John Mbadi reads the budget and commits it to Parliament, we will scrutinize it and ensure it is fit for consumption by Kenyan people,” he said.
He said that Limuru people are concerned on their roads which needs to be rehabilitated and constructed, he said that the issue of unemployment is a major issue which needs to be captured in the budget.
He added that education matters are equally important and Kenyans need it addressed in the budget.
“Our people who are hardworking farmers and require good roads so that they can move their produce to the market at ease and we need a budget that has put more emphasis on road development. My people also have expressed their concerns on education matters where they want free education and good infrastructure. We will look into the budget once it is committed to Parliament for scrutiny. Our people also need jobs and we are optimistic that it has been captured in the budget,” he said.
He said that that the issue of pending bills have hurt people and should be captured in the budget.
He added that as legislators they will ensure that during the revenue raising measures that Kenyans are not highly taxed.
“We will not allow Kenyans to be overtaxed and we will look into areas which can help the country to grow economically,” he said.
Jane Wangechi a resident said that the budget should address the issue of farm inputs which have been expensive hence reducing the farmers’ production.
“We are farmers and livestock feeds, farm inputs that include fertilizers and pesticides are expensive and needs to be brought down so that farmers can be motivated to produce more,” she said.
Rachel Njeri a content creator called on the legislators to ensure that youths on the digital space are not hurt and that the data privacy is guaranteed.
“The budget should not hurt the youths who are trying to eke a living through digital space. The legislators should safeguard our freedom and data privacy guaranteed,” she said.
The residents however said that to avoid a repeat of last year’s Gen Z protests the legislators should be vigilant on the people’s wishes and deliver a budget that will favour them.
Mt Kenya Times