- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
Kenya government unveils budget to opposition walkout
Kenyan President William Ruto's government presented its maiden budget to parliament on Thursday but was met with a walkout by protesting opposition MPs.
The 3.6-trillion shilling ($25.7 billion) financial plan for 2023/24 is the first since Ruto took the helm of the East African powerhouse in September last year following a bitterly contested election race.
But there has been widespread public anger over plans for a raft of tax hikes including on food and fuel expected to generate an extra $2.1 billion in revenue.
And just as Treasury Minister Njuguna Ndung'u began reading the budget, lawmakers allied with opposition leader Raila Odinga's coalition walked out of the chamber to cheers and jeers.
Although Ruto pledged on the campaign trail to help poor Kenyans known as "hustlers", he has been accused of introducing policies that have actually made their lives harder.
Ruto is seeking to replenish the government's coffers and repair a heavily-indebted economy inherited from his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, who splurged on major infrastructure projects.
"We have to have some short-term sacrifices for us to achieve the long-term. We have to sacrifice for the future," Ndung'u told local station Citizen TV earlier on Thursday.
Kenyans are already feeling the pinch from soaring prices for basic necessities, along with a sharp drop in the value of the local currency and the worst drought in four decades.
Economic growth slowed last year to 4.8 percent from 7.6 percent in 2021, reflecting the global fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the drought buffeting the vital agriculture sector.
Kenya is also sitting on a public debt mountain of almost $70 billion or about 67 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and its repayment costs have jumped as the shilling sinks to record lows of more than 139 to the dollar.
Ruto has said that the finance bill, which sailed through a second reading in parliament on Wednesday, will ease the debt burden, stimulate the economy and create jobs.
But opponents have warned the new measures will further hit people already struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living crisis bites.
- 'Significant challenges' -
The proposed legislation calls for new or increased taxes on items including fuel and food, as well as mobile money transfers, beauty products and digital content.
One of the most contentious provisions is a 1.5 percent levy on the salaries of all tax-paying Kenyans to fund an affordable housing programme.
Odinga's Azimio alliance had on Wednesday described the budget as "deeply flawed" and said it "prolongs and worsens the suffering of the people".
Earlier this year, the opposition staged several anti-government protests over the cost of living crisis which degenerated into sometimes deadly street clashes between police and demonstrators.
An opinion poll published in the leading newspaper Daily Nation on Wednesday found that 90 percent of Kenyans were opposed to the finance bill.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has nevertheless hailed the government for responding "promptly" to the economic challenges it faces and for "prudent" spending.
In May, the IMF said it had reached a preliminary agreement with Kenya that would provide the government with access to another $1 billion in credit -- increasing its total commitments to $3.52 billion.
While the agency said it had a favourable medium-term outlook for the Kenyan economy, "significant challenges remain against the backdrop of slow global economic growth and tight financial conditions".
X.Cheung--CPN