President William Ruto has announced plans to abolish the office of the First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto and that of the second Lady Pastor Dorcas Rigathi.
Speaking during the Presidential Roundtable on Sunday, June 30, Ruto said there will be a lot of changes in the government going forward to reduce the expenditure and live within the country’s budget.
The President said Rachel’s and Dorcas’ offices will be among the offices that will not be financed in the 2024/25 financial year.
“I know citizens have said there is no need for the Office of the First Lady or Second Lady. These are offices that were there but because we have to live within our means. Those offices from tomorrow will not be part of our equation because in the face of what has happened, we have to trim down every other area,” Ruto said.
Ruto also explained that the trimming will apply to other government offices and departments including counties and the judiciary.
“In fact, not just those, many other spaces are going to be trimmed down to reflect the new reality, especially after I took down the Finance Bill. We are going to reduce money going to counties and the judiciary,” he said.
Besides, the Head of State said he will need to borrow at least Ksh.1 trillion this year to keep the government operational.
“The funding gap that we have done with the Finance Bill going down is that instead of borrowing Ksh600 billion, we are going to borrow an extra Ksh346 billion, that is close to a trillion,” Ruto said.
“Dropping the finance bill means we will not confirm the JSS teachers, it means we cannot support our farmers, it means we will continue to import potatoes from Europe.”
No CASs Appointments
Additionally, Ruto stated that the government will not appoint Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs) until the economy stabilizes.
He maintained that he has deliberately failed to confirm CASs appointments despite approval by the National Assembly.
“I know people have raised issues of CASs. Even after Parliament approved the position of CAS, I have not appointed any CAS. No CAS will be appointed until we have an economy that can support more opportunities,” Ruto said.
Also Read: Kenya is Headed in the Right Direction – Ruto
Ruto Says MPs Who Voted Yes are Heroes
Additionally, the president hailed the Members of Parliament (MPs) who voted in support of the Finance Bill 2024.
Ruto said the MPs are heroes and had the ambition to drive the country forward by reducing the debt burden.
“MPs are not fools and they are not mad. One day Kenya will know that the MPs who voted yes are the true heroes of Kenya. Those are the people who saw the opportunity for us to unchain our country from the debt trap and take our country to the future,” he noted.
The President stated that he planned to make sure Kenya has a balanced budget within the next four years.
He asked Kenyans to understand that the country is in a difficult financial position adding that the current crisis will help Kenyans be candid, speak to each other properly and contextualize the whole situation.
Also Read: President William Ruto: What About if He Leads Kenya to a Re-Birth of the Nation?
Govt Communication Team Failed
However, he blamed his communication team for failing to inform Kenyans about the content of the bill.
According to Ruto, the communication architecture did not deliver the message out to the people of Kenya appropriately.
“If I am given a chance to explain to Kenyans what was in the finance bill and what the finance bill would have done for this country, every Kenyan would have agreed with me. If you look at what the people are saying, they were talking about the matter of land which was not part of the bill,” he said.
Zakayo Nickname
Further, the president said he doesn’t mind being nicknamed or mocked for collecting more taxes since taking over.
Ruto said such mockery is worth it, especially if his actions will save Kenya from excessive borrowing and avoid debt traps.
“If I am called Zakayo because I have explained to Kenyans that the option, we have is if we continue borrowing, we will go down the cliff. If that is what is going to take for Kenya to be saved from a debt default, I don’t mind being called Zakayo because it is a sacrifice worth making,” he said.
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