𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐘𝐀, 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐙𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄

Members of Parliament from Kenya and Tanzania have called for stronger regional cooperation and joint Parliamentary oversight to address border clearance challenges, enhance revenue mobilisation and address fiscal constraints hampering development initiatives in the two countries.

The MPs want the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to harmonise border clearance operations and accelerate the implementation of One-Stop Border Posts to ease movement of goods and services.

They also resolved to address accountability concerns surrounding the East African Development Bank’s dividends and immunities with a commitment to recommend legislative amendments should the existing bottlenecks persist.

They reached the resolutions during a bilateral benchmarking meeting where the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning played host to the Tanzanian delegation for a learning mission on Kenya’s budgetary and financial oversight framework.

The Tanzanian delegation, led by their Budget Committee Chairperson, Hon. Mashimba Mashauri, said the visit was aimed at understanding how Kenya exercises oversight over revenue collection, public expenditure, public participation in the budget-making process and private-sector financing.

“We came to learn how Kenya oversees government operations, monitors implementation of Parliamentary resolutions and engages citizens in the budget process. We are equally interested on how to supervise revenue mobilization alongside expenditure, how to bring the private sector into infrastructure delivery and how to manage limited resources against huge development demands,” said Hon. Mashauri.

Hon. Mashauri disclosed that, Tanzania operates a single, unified Budget Committee, unlike Kenya, which has Budget and Appropriations and Finance and National Planning Committees, each with distinct functions.

Presiding over the meeting, Kitui Rural MP, Hon. David Mboni outlined the legislative and constitutional framework governing the Committee on Finance and National Planning. He cited Standing Order No. 216 and Articles 95, 118 and 124 of the Constitution, which provide the basis for its oversight mandate over the National Treasury, the State Department for Economic Planning and agencies including the Kenya Revenue Authority, Central Bank of Kenya and Capital Markets Authority.

“All tax-related Bills, including the annual Finance Bill, are committed to this Committee. Before we report any tax legislation to the House, public participation is mandatory. We take memoranda, hold hearings in Parliament and go to Counties to gather the views of Kenyans,” noted Hon. Mboni.

He further highlighted Kenya’s use of technology and legislative reforms to expand the tax base and improve compliance, citing the electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS), which facilitates real-time invoicing and measures to bring virtual asset service providers under regulatory oversight.

The MPs from both legislatures expressed a concern over the slow pace of East African Community integration, particularly the excessive time taken by the trucks at borders despite One-Stop Border Post agreements.

In furtherance to the meeting, the MPs from Kenya and Tanzania agreed to sustain engagements and organize a policy workshop on infrastructure financing, tax harmonization and regional economic issues.