United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala on Wednesday, July 12 urged opposition leader Raila Odinga to give President William Ruto time to deliver on the promises he made to Kenyans.
Appearing on Citizen TV, Malala stated that Kenyans should appreciate the little gains the Kenya Kwanza government has made since taking over in September 2022.
“The president has tried as much as possible to reduce the deficit in the budget, we must appreciate that this is the first budget he is going to implement,” said Malala.
Malala explained that President was yet to start implementing the new tax regime and his administration was using the budget and tax regime of the handshake government.
According to vocal politician, President Ruto’s aim is to lower the country’s debt and block all the leakages in tax collection by centralizing all the government services through a digital platform.
“As we speak, the president has digitalized 5,000 government services within six months. All those services will be paid through one channel, and this will reduce leakages,” said Malala.
Malala Clarifies Attending Cabinet
In addition, he assured Kenyans that if President Ruto gets ample time, he will ensure the revenue pays the public debt and fund infrastructural development.
Defending his role in cabinet meetings, the former Kakamega Senator maintained that he attends those meetings as an advisor to the president on the government’s agenda.
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“The Constitution states that the cabinet shall constitute of 23 cabinet secretaries and the President has not added any cabinet portfolio in his cabinet,” he said.
“We must have technical people to help the President make decisions, therefore, I am not there as a CS but as a technical team to remind him about the manifesto he made to the people,” he added.
Also Read: Malala Accuses Raila of Economic Sabotage
Keeping Government in Check
However, Narok Senator Ledama Olekina dismissed Malala arguing that President Ruto has implemented the budget through supplementary budgets.
“President Ruto has mutilated the budget; he has borrowed more money than former President Uhuru Kenyatta. Therefore, Malala should not lie to Kenyans that this is the first budget he is going to implement,” said Ledama.
Furthermore, Ledama stated that Kenya Kwanza government should lower the taxes to allow more people to start businesses and increase revenue collection.
“There are two ways of raising taxes, first you can increase the taxes and focus on revenue collection from the few who will be able to do business. Alternatively, lower the taxes and increase the economic players. Once this is done more people will be able to pay taxes,” he said.
On Wednesday, July 12, the opposition called for countrywide anti-government protests against the high cost of living.
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