Nandi residents endorse Finance & VASP Bills, advocate for enhanced civic education

Kipchoge Keino Complex, Nandi County
June 4, 2025 

Residents of Nandi County have expressed their support for the Finance Bill, 2025 and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, 2025. However, they also strongly urged for more comprehensive civic education regarding future legislative proposals.

During an public participation exercise conducted by the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning at the Kipchoge Keino Complex in Kapsabet, Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey led a large gathering of residents in sharing their views on the Bills.

They emphasized the critical need for prior civic education before public hearings are held on future Bills.

"We are happy that your legal counsel took us through the two Bills but which contain very technical language. However, there was no sufficient time for us to internalize it even for those of us who are well educated,” Richard Cheruyoit, a Kapsabet resident, told the Committee.

Participants noted that providing civic education on future Bills in advance would help eliminate misinformation about crucial proposed legislation, enabling them to participate more effectively in the process.

Members of the public who made submissions widely lauded the Bill's provision to exempt pension and gratuity payments from taxation. 

They noted that if enacted, this provision would cushion a majority of senior citizens from such taxation, allowing them to fully enjoy their pensions in their later years and address the numerous challenges they face.

Echoing the residents' sentiments, Senator Cherarkey remarked that the Bill represents the most progressive tax law ever proposed and urged the Committee to push for its enactment.

"This is the most progressive tax legislation ever proposed. We are happy that no new taxes have been introduced-forget about the misinformation doing rounds. The fact that the Bill seeks to exempt pensioners from taxation on their benefits is a good move towards helping increase their little disposable income,” he stated.

Touching on other provisions within the Bill, such as the proposed tax exemption for packaged tea and coffee, Senator Cherarkey urged the Committee to extend this provision to include the establishment of tea factories by farmers.

“Our tea and coffee farmers need to be incentivized. The best way to help these farmers compete with multinationals is to exempt them from taxation on farm inputs and when they’re establishing local tea factories," he emphasized.

Regarding the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, residents endorsed the legislation, recognizing its potential to regulate service providers in the sector and address potential risks associated with the misuse of virtual asset products and services. 

They highlighted that several families in the area had experienced breakdowns due to losses incurred from blind investments in unscrupulous digital assets.

“We are happy that the proposed law when enacted will protect us from conmen. Very many families have broken after either of the spouses secretly invested in bitcoins and lost out. I know almost 20 families that have broken after they lost out on their investments,” said Rev. Simon Cheruyoit.

The exercise, which was on its second day, will continue tomorrow in Kiambu and Machakos counties.