Residents of Tana River County have urged lawmakers to scale up civic education on legislative documents before subjecting them to public participation.
They made the call during a public participation forum conducted by the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning in Hola, Tana River County.
The MPs were in the county to collect residents' views on the Finance Bill, 2026, the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026, the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Kenya Revenue Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which are currently under consideration by the Committee.
The forum, attended by more than 150 residents, focused largely on the Finance Bill.
Led by civil society leader Rashid James, residents said civic education should be integrated into the process before members of the public are asked to give their views on proposed legislation.
"We must treat public participation as a process and not an event. Though the legal counsel took us through the four Bills, the time was not enough for us to internalize and scrutinize the documents as we should," Rashid told lawmakers.
He appealed for future public participation exercises to include simplified explainers and translations of Bills into Kiswahili to enhance public understanding and engagement.
"We appreciate the Committee for coming to seek our views, but we wish the language was simpler and translated into Kiswahili for easier understanding," said women's leader Fatuma Kitole.
On the contents of the Finance Bill, Rashid expressed concern over the projected fiscal deficit for the 2026/27 financial year, urging the government to reduce non-essential expenditure and keep borrowing at manageable levels.
"The National Treasury is projecting a budget of Ksh4.8 trillion against expected revenue of about Ksh3.8 trillion. With such a huge deficit, it becomes difficult to reduce our debt burden, leaving the government with no option but to impose higher taxes. We need to cut expenditure," he said.
Supporting the Finance Bill, Mohammed Farah said government operations depend on revenue collection and urged Kenyans to support measures aimed at financing public services.
"As Kenyans, we need to view taxes as a double-sided coin, where revenue raised facilitates service delivery. I also urge the government to implement taxation that is commensurate with people's earnings, so that wealthier citizens pay a larger share while low-income earners are protected," he said.
Responding to the residents' concerns, MP Julius Rutto, who chaired the session, said all views—whether in support of or opposed to the Bills—would be considered in the Committee's final report.
He revealed that the Committee would hold further discussions with the National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority to deliberate on the views collected during the exercise.
While assuring residents that their opinions would be taken into account, Rutto encouraged them to follow parliamentary proceedings to track proposed amendments and compare them with the original proposals submitted by the National Treasury.
"I urge you to follow the processing of the Bill in the House. You will be able to see how your views have shaped the final outcome of the proposals we received from the National Treasury," he said.
MPs Chiforomodo Mangale and George Sunkuya, who accompanied Rutto to the forum, echoed the sentiments, saying the Committee's recommendations are heavily influenced by public submissions gathered across the country.
They were responding to concerns raised by some residents who feared that their views might not be reflected in the final legislation.
Mangale also cautioned residents against relying on fake versions of the Finance Bill, 2026, being circulated online to spread misinformation and confusion.
"With advances in technology, some individuals thrive on misinformation and disinformation whenever a new policy is introduced. There is only one official Finance Bill that the public should refer to, and that is the official 'green Bill'," he said.
The Committee, which has now toured 11 counties, is expected to conclude the public participation exercise on Monday with visits to Kilifi and Mombasa counties.