Kenyan exports to the United Kingdom could be subject to additional tariffs by the end of this year if the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the two countries is not ratified. This comes even as Parliament and the Ministry of Trade point fingers at each other over the delay in implementing the Sh200 billion bilateral deal with less than a month left to the deadline. On Thursday, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi stopped debate on the report by the Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives that was recommending the ratification of the EPA, stating that the report lacked crucial documentation.
“We should not be in a hurry to ratify this document until the Clerk of the National Assembly confirms that the document tabled before the House is complete, as well as the one uploaded on the website for public participation,” he said. “It is only fair that what is going to be discussed and debated by Members of Parliament should be in the public domain. Article 10 and 118 require that there is public participation and if during that participation the annexures were not there, it means this report itself is incomplete.”