I'll recover Sh20 trillion kept in offshore accounts, Mwaure

The Sh20 trillion hidden in offshore accounts is enough to solve many of the problems affecting Kenya, Agano party presidential candidate Waihiga Mwaure said Thursday.

He noted that he will prioritize the recovery of the money soon after he is sworn in after the August 9, elections.

In his tour of Nyeri alongside his running mate Ruth Mucheru, Mwaure gave a breakdown of how the money will be allocated upon recovery.

Out of the amount, he said, Sh9 trillion will be used to settle the whole debt that Kenya owes China while Health, Education, SMEs and Agriculture will be allocated Sh1 trillion each.

The rest of the money will be used in other programmes that will revive the economy, he said.

The fact that there are huge amounts of money stashed in offshore accounts was confirmed by the former Treasury cabinet secretary Henry Rotich during his 2017/18 budget presentation, he said.

“We are the team coming to bring change in this country because we are not coming to loot. I am a God fearing person and an experienced lawyer so vote for me,” he said.

Mwaure said it is unfortunate that 59 years after independence, Kenyans are still struggling with starvation, high cost of living and debt yet Kenya’s contemporaries like South Korea and Singapore are far much ahead.

He said the harsh economic times are not as a result of the war in Ukraine but bad leadership, saying there have been mega scandals that see over Sh730 billion stolen yearly.

During the ten year Jubilee tenure, he said, about Sh10 trillion has been lost which is enough to pay China’s debt.

He said President Uhuru Kenyatta has been on record confessing that Sh 2 billion is stolen from public coffers daily.

His other priorities upon his election, he said, will be waiving tax penalties to boost small businesses, reduce PAYE by half and fight corruption.

His other agenda is to raise the allocation of funds to county governments to 40 per cent and subsidize the prices of essential commodities like foodstuff and fertilizers.

He rubbished Roots party presidential candidate George Wajackoya’s proposal to legalize bhang growing saying the same has not helped much in countries that have legalized it in terms of boosting their economies.

Bhang growing and consumption is illegal in this country in the first place, he said.

“Research has shown that even the countries that have legalized growing of bhang have not achieved much,” said

He said his other competitors who include Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Raila Odinga and Kenya Kwanza’s William Ruto have been in government for years but have nothing to show for the time they served.

His running mate said this time round, women will have a say in government and the executive while the youth are also well represented as she is a youth.

She said the three years job experience threshold demanded from the youth by employers will be reduced so that more young people can get jobs.

“We shall also revive industries that have collapsed and boost manufacturing so that the informal sector can be improved if not expanded,” she said.

The two are on a two-day vote hunting mission in Mt Kenya where they toured Murang’a, Nyeri and Nanyuki in Laikipia Thursday before heading to Meru, Embu and Kirinyaga Friday.