BREAKING: The Auditor General has warned that the Finance Bill 2026 could make life more expensive for ordinary Kenyans & threaten Ruto's BETA goals.
Here's how:
• Medicine prices could rise because pharmaceutical manufacturers will face higher production costs after VAT changes on key inputs.
• Animal feed prices could rise because feed manufacturers and farmers will no longer be able to easily recover VAT on inputs, increasing the cost of livestock production.
• Transaction costs could rise because VAT exemptions on money transfers and payment processing are being removed.
• Affordable housing could become more expensive because approved projects will now face an additional 16% VAT on certain goods and materials.
In simple terms:
You could pay more at the pharmacy.
Farmers could pay more to feed livestock.
Businesses could pay more to move money.
What makes this story even more interesting is that when some of us raised these concerns, we were told we were lying and spreading propaganda.
Now the Auditor General is warning Parliament about the very same issues.
If medicine, food production, and digital transactions all become more expensive, who exactly benefits from the Finance Bill 2026?