See below a summary of the top stories for Wednesday, June 23.
Ruto’s Game Plan
Reports have come out alleging that Deputy President William Ruto is crafting key strategies in order to woo political figures from different regions. Among the strategies includes recruiting a key member of the National Super Alliance (NASA).
Reports also indicate that he may front former Agriculture Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri as his running mate to appease the Mt Kenya region. Further, the DP would create a chief minister slot that would allegedly be reserved for the Western region.
This comes after Kiambu Women representative Gathoni Wamuchomba affiliated herself with the DP after the two held talks at his Karen home.
Ultimatum for Landlords
Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) boss Mohammed Badi has issued a directive to all property owners within the city to repaint their buildings for the next two months failure to which they will pay a daily fine of Ksh1,500.
Badi pointed out that the move is part of realizing the ongoing beautification project in Nairobi.
Closure of Roads
Interior CS Fred Matiang’i ordered the closure of Kikopey-Elementaita village road from Friday, June 25 to Saturday, June 26 ahead of the upcoming World Rally Championship (WRC).
Further, he directed trucks weighing over 3 tonnes to be barred from accessing five major highways among them Eldoret-Nakuru highway, Kericho-Nakuru highway, Nyahururu-Nakuru highway, Mombasa-Nairobi highway, and Mai Mahiu – Naivasha highway.
MPs Reject Taxes
Kenyans received a reprieve after MPs rejected the taxes proposed by Treasury CS Ukur Yatani in the Finance Bill 2021.
The CS had initially proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) on items such as bread, flour as well as a 15 percent tax on the purchase of motorcycles.
The MPs alleged that the taxes would deepen Kenyans’ economic woes which had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
UDA Ticket Tussle
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Veronica Maina affirmed that the party has not reserved the Presidential ticket to Deputy President William Ruto.
Speaking to Citizen TV, she stated that Ruto would have to go through the party’s nomination phase in order to bag the ticket.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM