Environment PS put to task over proposed eco levy
Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Principal Secretary Festus Ng'eno was put to task on the proposed eco levy which seeks to tax products deemed harmful to the environment.
During the ongoing public participation at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, the Finance and National Planning Committee summoned Ng'eno to shed light on some of the issues proposed in the bill.
Asked why the eco levy must be imposed on Kenyans, Ng'eno stated that several other countries had adopted the practice as part of the acknowledgement of the scale of the proliferation of problematic waste streams in recent decades. 
Among the countries listed by the PS were Barbados, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Jamaica, Guyana, Ghana and the Bahamas.
Ng’eno has told the committee that the revenue generated from the levy is earmarked for such initiatives as putting up enhanced waste management systems and creating public awareness and education through nationwide campaigns, to support innovation and enhanced research.
The other areas were the development of green technologies and support of community-based environmental programs to implement grassroots environmental projects such as waste reduction, tree planting and the restoration of degraded ecosystems.
PS pinned down
The committee, however, questioned the PS on how his Ministry would ensure that monies generated from the eco levy would be channelled towards the listed projects.
"The Members of the Committee on Finance and National Planning have noted that in the absence of a ring-fence mechanism for the Eco-levy, it would be hard to convincingly state how the levy would be used to roll out initiatives for environmental conservation," a statement from the committee read.
During the Tuesday session, Ng'eno was also put to task on some of the alternatives that his Ministry is proposing to replace some of the products that the Bill proposes to impose the eco-levy on.
Proposed tax implications
In the proposed eco levy, television camera tubes will be taxed at Ksh1,800 per piece, rubber tyres at Ksh1,000 each, smartphones at Ksh225 per piece, diapers at Ksh150 per kg and plastic materials at Ksh150 a kilo.
The proposed bill extends to impose a tax on several telecommunications and technological devices and the accessories associated with such devices.
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