Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers David Ndii has said the late President Mwai Kibaki mismanaged politics.
Ndii claimed that Kibaki did not achieve political stability, leading to a shattered economy.
According to Ndii, Kibaki’s early years as head of state was marred with “bravado,” something he says prevented the government from addressing pressing issues.
“I had a ringside seat and I watched Kibaki mismanage politics from 2003 to 2005. All that we did economically came to note in 2007. It was foreseeable,” he said.
“The lesson I learned is that the first duty of a government is political stability.” Ndii added.
Moreover, Ndii while speaking during an interview with Citizen TV, further blamed the country’s current economic crisis on Mwai Kibakis’s tenure as president.
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Economist Ndii argued that the country would not be in the state it is presently if a more stringent approach to addressing the economic status was taken.
“What the Kibaki administration needed to do in 2003 was not much. What we had is bravado and people just not [being] mature about the situation we are facing. I think we are in a situation that is not dissimilar,” he said.
He further called on the government to start looking for ways of properly managing government expenditures.
The Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers also admitted that some excesses must be eliminated as well.
“When we said that we have come in during a very severe financial crisis and we have to bite the bullet, I don’t think the point had gotten home,” he said.
“We have to sober up as a country, but I can tell you that this has also helped because I will be the first one to admit that there are some excesses we can do without.” Ndii added.
Ndii’s remarks come against the backdrop of the delay in paying civil servants’ salaries with the government admitting to financial difficulties.
