Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has promised that if his Linda Mwananchi outfit forms the next government, it will trim Sh500 billion from the national budget and use the savings to remove some of the taxes Kenyans complain about every day.
He made the promise on Friday during the official opening of the party's offices in Lavington, Nairobi. Sifuna said a Linda Mwananchi government would stop wastage and direct public money to where it can ease the burden on ordinary Kenyans. According to him, the government spends too much on itself, leaving little for services that matter, while families struggle with the high cost of living.
The senator said the party already has a plan and would start working on it in its first 100 days in power. The first target, he said, would be unnecessary spending and what he called extravagance at State House. He told the crowd that Kenyans should be assured the plan is well thought out.
To back his point, Sifuna turned to the 2026/2027 budget estimates. State House was allocated Sh13.54 billion, made up of Sh12.52 billion for recurrent expenses and Sh1.03 billion for development. The money covers the day-to-day running of State House and the State Lodges across the country.
He then compared this with the health sector, which he said is starving for funds. Sifuna asked how nurses could be on strike over a demand of only Sh1.5 billion while State House gets over Sh12 billion. Government, he said, should put its money where citizens benefit directly.
Once the savings are made, Sifuna said, the money would be returned to Kenyans through tax relief. He named fuel, electricity and the housing levy as the first taxes to go, and argued that cutting wasteful spending would allow this without affecting public services. In his view, Kenyans are carrying a tax burden that is simply too heavy.
The three taxes he named touch almost every household. Taxes and levies on fuel push up pump prices for motorists and transporters, and in the end consumers pay more for moving goods and delivering services. Electricity bills also carry statutory levies on top of the other charges. The Affordable Housing Levy is taken from employees' pay at 1.5 per cent every month, and employers add a matching contribution.
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