{"id":76685,"date":"2023-01-26T10:17:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T10:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/"},"modified":"2023-01-26T10:17:23","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T10:17:23","slug":"khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<p>Mombasa county government has proposed to double the cess on stimulants.<\/p>\n<p>The traders are now seeking the intervention of Meru and Embu governors Kawira Mwangaza and Cecily Mbarire, as well as Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi and Agriculture\u00a0Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi.<\/p>\n<p>According to traders, Mombasa County&#8217;s proposed Finance Bill of 2022\/2023 will increase the cess for khat from a flat rate at Sh45,000 per vehicle up to Sh80,000.<\/p>\n<p>The county will charge Sh80,000 for a truck carrying more than seven tons and Sh50,000 for a truck carrying less than seven tons under the new cess schedule.<\/p>\n<p>A three-tonne lorry costs Sh30,000, a pick up Sh20,000, and a handcart Sh10,000.<\/p>\n<p>If the bill passes the county assembly, an additional Sh1,500 will be charged per box for muguka and Sh1,200 per bag of miraa.<\/p>\n<p>Ian Mwobobia, secretary general of Muguka Association, called the increase exorbitant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is public knowledge that muguka and miraa traders have been victims of harassment and punitive taxes by Mombasa County since 2018. Each year, taxes rise by more than 150 per cent. This is despite the county government imposing levies on offloading, transportation and trading,\u201d Mr. Mwobobia states.<\/p>\n<p>He stated that khat is more expensive than other agricultural products by more than 100 per cent.<\/p>\n<p>Mwobobia warned that the hefty cess would kill many businesses not only in Mombasa but also Embu and\u00a0Meru.<\/p>\n<p>He noticed that governor Abdulswamad Nassir had called traders to arrange a meeting, but none of their suggestions were considered in the Finance Bill.<\/p>\n<p>He\u00a0said when the traders tried to\u00a0reach out to the governor in December, he referred them to the County Assembly yet the Bill originated from the Executive.<\/p>\n<p>John Mbijiwe a miraa trader\u00a0from Meru\u00a0pointed out that increase in taxes will kill their\u00a0business.<\/p>\n<p>Miraa farmers\u00a0have been facing a lot of challenges\u00a0such as ban of\u00a0miraa trade in European markets, hence imposing\u00a0extra charges\u00a0will\u00a0be\u00a0killing it,\u201d he said and called on the\u00a0county government\u00a0to\u00a0review\u00a0the\u00a0levies\u00a0downwards\u00a0so that\u00a0traders\u00a0can remain in\u00a0business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By Muguongo Judy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenyanews.go.ke\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa\/\">kenyanews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mombasa county government has proposed to double the cess on stimulants. The traders are now seeking the intervention of Meru and Embu governors Kawira Mwangaza and Cecily Mbarire, as well as Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi and Agriculture\u00a0Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi. According to traders, Mombasa County&#8217;s proposed Finance Bill of 2022\/2023 will increase the cess for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency - African News Paper<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency - African News Paper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mombasa county government has proposed to double the cess on stimulants. The traders are now seeking the intervention of Meru and Embu governors Kawira Mwangaza and Cecily Mbarire, as well as Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi and Agriculture\u00a0Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi. According to traders, Mombasa County&#8217;s proposed Finance Bill of 2022\/2023 will increase the cess for [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"African News Paper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-26T10:17:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-26T10:17:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/\",\"name\":\"African News Paper\",\"description\":\"We bring Africa Closer To you\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/\",\"name\":\"Khat traders\\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \\u2013 Kenya News Agency - African News Paper\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-26T10:17:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-26T10:17:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#\/schema\/person\/19893f3a11e0429bf3219300d406960a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Khat traders\\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \\u2013 Kenya News Agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#\/schema\/person\/19893f3a11e0429bf3219300d406960a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e23d29bdcdae20b5bf12dca33252ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e23d29bdcdae20b5bf12dca33252ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/africannewspaper.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency - African News Paper","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency - African News Paper","og_description":"Mombasa county government has proposed to double the cess on stimulants. The traders are now seeking the intervention of Meru and Embu governors Kawira Mwangaza and Cecily Mbarire, as well as Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi and Agriculture\u00a0Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi. According to traders, Mombasa County&#8217;s proposed Finance Bill of 2022\/2023 will increase the cess for [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/","og_site_name":"African News Paper","article_published_time":"2023-01-26T10:17:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-26T10:17:23+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/","name":"African News Paper","description":"We bring Africa Closer To you","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/","name":"Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency - African News Paper","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-01-26T10:17:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-26T10:17:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#\/schema\/person\/19893f3a11e0429bf3219300d406960a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2023\/01\/26\/khat-traders-protest-over-high-tax-in-mombasa-kenya-news-agency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Khat traders\u00a0protest over high tax in Mombasa \u2013 Kenya News Agency"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#\/schema\/person\/19893f3a11e0429bf3219300d406960a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e23d29bdcdae20b5bf12dca33252ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e23d29bdcdae20b5bf12dca33252ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/africannewspaper.net"],"url":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76686,"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76685\/revisions\/76686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}