Mathira MP and Kenya Kwanza deputy president nominee Rigathi Gachagua stirred controversy over his remarks on Safaricom and Kenya Airways (KQ).
Speaking in an interview with Inooro TV on Tuesday, May 24, the MP said the Kenya Kwanza government will concentrate on small businesses instead of focusing on big companies.
As such, he suggested the dismantlement of big corporates such as Safaricom PLC and the money used to fund small businesses.
Gachagua argued that taxes for such small businesses will be more than taxes from Safaricom alone.
Also Read: Rigathi Gachagua Biography, Education, Career, Family and Money Laundering Claims
“Instead of having giant corporates like Safaricom only paying taxes, you can have such a company’s investment and create many smaller companies that will pay taxes
“Their impact will be thirty times more than from just one big corporate. So we are not chasing big corporates. We are saying that even small and medium investors be taken care of,” he argued.
Gachagua’s sentiments sparked outrage on social media with users fearing that Kenya’s economy will shoot down should Kenya Kwanza win the August 9 General Elections.
This comes months after the Kenya Revenue Authority named Safaricom as the top taxpayer in Kenya in 2020.
The leading telecommunications company paid KSh 106 billion in duties, taxes, and license fees to the government for the financial year that ended March 2021.
The payment was equivalent to 40% of its total revenue which stood at KSh 264 billion at the end of the financial year.
Notably, since its inception in 2000, the telecommunications company has paid the Kenyan government KSh 915.42 billion in taxes and license fees.