Gachagua blasts Finance Bill for 'funding opulence & corruption', questions State House's Ksh.17B budget

Speaking during a press conference in Nairobi where he critiqued the 2026/27 Budget Estimates and the Finance Bill 2026, Gachagua termed the two documents 'a twin evil,' claiming they would increase the tax burden on ordinary citizens while failing to stimulate economic growth.

“Despite suffocating critical sectors, the government continues to increase allocations to non-essential expenditures. The Presidency and State House have continued to expand up to Ksh.17 billion in this year’s budget," Gachagua stated. 

"This is funding opulence and corruption. What does State House need Ksh.17 billion for? Are there schools and hospitals in State House?” 

The former Deputy President argued that education, health and agriculture should remain the government’s top priorities, saying the sectors directly affect the lives of all Kenyans.

“Kenya’s priority sectors are education, health and agriculture. These sectors touch every Kenyan and every facet of our lives. Previous informed governments gave priority and adequate funding to these sectors,” he stated.

Gachagua further criticised the government’s borrowing trends, accusing the administration of violating constitutional and legal provisions that prohibit financing recurrent expenditure using debt.

“Why is this regime in an open violation of Article 211 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and Section 15(2)(C) of the PFM Act 2012 that strictly prohibits the financing of recurrent expenditure using debt?” he asked.

According to Gachagua, the current administration borrows an average of Ksh.1.4 trillion annually without corresponding development outcomes.

He also launched a scathing attack on the Finance Bill 2026, describing it as 'the worst Finance Bill in Kenya’s history.'

“The bill is deeply detrimental. It increases heavy taxation, doubles compliance pressure and escalates household costs,” he alleged.

Gachagua particularly opposed the proposal to increase excise duty on mobile phones from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, warning that it would hurt students, entrepreneurs and low-income households.

“Phones are essential tools for education, communication, financial services, content creation and job searching. Increasing the cost will widen the digital divide,” he noted. 

The DCP leader accused the government of pursuing unrealistic revenue targets despite persistent underperformance in revenue collection and weak economic growth.

“At a time when Kenyans are grappling with high cost of living, rising statutory deductions, expensive credit, unemployment and weak economic growth, the Finance Bill places additional pressure on households and businesses,” he added.

To cushion Kenyans, Gachagua proposed eight measures, including stopping Housing Levy deductions, reducing wasteful government expenditure, slowing debt growth, prioritising education, agriculture and health, paying pending bills owed to businesses, broadening the tax base through transparency and modernisation, strengthening parliamentary oversight, and restoring accountability in public spending.

He said the Democratic Change Party (DCP) would reduce the national budget from Ksh.4.8 trillion to Ksh.3.7 trillion if given the opportunity.

Under the proposal, agriculture funding would increase from Ksh.97 billion to Ksh.300 billion, while the health budget would rise from Ksh.167.4 billion to Ksh.450 billion.

At the same time, allocations to public administration would be reduced from Ksh.354.9 billion to Ksh.250 billion.

Gachagua also proposed reducing government borrowing from Ksh.1.44 trillion to zero borrowing.

“This Finance Bill is taxing Kenyans into poverty. It is a killer and a threat to the common mwananchi. It will break households while violating the soul of our nation,” he claimed.