By Peter Ochieng
Nairobi county Women Representative Esther Passaries has declared her unwavering loyalty to ODM and Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
She is serving her second term in office, having been elected on the ODM party ticket in 2017, before retaining the seat in 2022.
However, under the same breadth, Passaries praised President William Ruto, adding that he loves and admires the Head of State.
“Just because I’m in Azimio and I’m a Baba (Raila Odinga) girl, I also admire Ruto, I admire the President, so get with it. I don’t give a crap what you think. Just because I’m in Baba’s party, doesn’t mean I have to hate Ruto. It is not in my being. I love the President, I love the way he does things. I love his dedication to serving this country,” she stated via a video posted on her TikTok account.
She had tough, choisy words for those threatening to vote her out in 2027.
“Don’t threaten me with 2027, with the one you’re going to vote for. You don’t even know whether you will be alive by then, get real.”
Last year, Passaries was among leaders fined by her party ODM for supporting and voting in favour of the controversial Finance Bill, 2023.
With the Finance Bill, 2024 already coming under immense opposition from various quarters due to some controversial clauses, Passaries said she will vote in its favour, come rain come shine.
“Those of you who keep calling me msaliti (traitor) because I voted for the Finance Bill 2023, well, there is going to be another one coming and even though there are some issues I may disagree with, I’m gonna vote for the Finance Bill 2024.”
“We are going to try and make sure that the finance bill is going to be less harsh on the people but remember, we are a country that is in a bad space,” she added.
The Finance Bill, 2024 proposes alterations to the Value Added Tax Act include adding VAT to previously unaffected goods and services, such as betting and lottery services, with the goal of expanding revenue collection.
Amendments to the Excise Duty Act will see extra levies on digital services, and raise the excise duty rates on a range of products including cigarettes, imported sugar goods, and motorcycles, along with internet, telephone and mobile financial transfer fees.
The government has also introduced excise duties on coal in a nod to tackling greenhouse gas emissions.