Ugenya Member of Parliament David Ochieng has strongly defended national fiscal policies, dismissing public criticism of the latest finance legislation as political misinformation while launching a scathing attack on Siaya Governor James Orengo’s leadership.

​Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Ukwala Huduma Centre, Ochieng urged Kenyans to look at the legislative history of the country, noting that the current bill is the 64th finance enactment since independence.

He argued that annual finance acts are a routine legal necessity for state operations and should not be weaponized for political mileage.

​”It is people who are used to giving false information, misinformation, and those who want to do politics with the finance bill who think it is a bad thing,” Ochieng said. He highlighted key relief measures in the bill, including a reduction in phone taxes to 25% and targeted relief for mortgage holders and small business owners, maintaining that the legislation does not increase overall tax burdens.

​The legislator used the setting of the Huduma Centre a facility designed to decentralize state services to explain that the finance bill primarily aims to streamline the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) tax collection procedures. He cited new compliance measures targeting diaspora landlords who own property locally but evade taxes.

​”If you are a landlord in Ukwala and you live in America, we don’t want you to be having land in Ukwala, receiving rent in Ukwala, and the money goes to you in America without paying tax here,” Ochieng noted, emphasizing that all income, including transactions via mobile money platforms like M-Pesa, must contribute to national development to fund public infrastructure like the Huduma Centre.

​Ochieng stated that opposition to the bill is largely driven by double standards, claiming that political figures who previously supported punitive fiscal measures under past administrations are now opposing the current framework simply because of President William Ruto’s leadership.

Ugenya lawmaker accused Governor James Orengo of abandoning his administrative duties in Siaya to pursue street activism. Ochieng alleged that the county executive has a history of suppressing workers’ rights, claiming the governor previously used law enforcement and hired youth to assault striking nurses and hospital staff.

​”Orengo has no moral authority to ask for anybody to go to the streets because he’s a failed governor,” Ochieng asserted, advising residents to ignore calls for protests.

​The MP concluded by urging county leaders to focus on core devolution mandates rather than national political grandstanding.

He emphasized that the governor’s office is an executive position meant for strategic planning in critical sectors, including agriculture, water provision, healthcare, infrastructural development, and youth talents.