It'll take time to revive Uhuru's tattered economy — Duale

Garissa Township MP Aden Duale has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to finish his term and leave the work of rebuilding the economy to Kenya Kwanza.

He said Uhuru is leaving behind a tattered and bleeding economy, that will take time to reconstruct.

Duale spoke at his residence on Tuesday where he met a delegation from the Balweynta Hawiye community in Garissa.

He said the high cost of living is one of the challenges that will face the next administration.

Last week, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority increased pump prices by Sh9 a litre.

The increase pushed the cost of super and diesel to Sh159.12 and Sh140 respectively in Nairobi — the highest in Kenya’s history.

Kerosene prices also went up by a similar margin and now retail at Sh127 in Nairobi.

Duale said the prices will unleash inflationary pressure on the cost of living as manufacturers, transporters and service providers pass the increased cost of fuel to consumers.

He blamed Uhuru for the soaring cost of commodities, which has made life unbearable to many Kenyans.

The legislator said the problem started when government refused to heed his advice to reduce taxes and levies on petroleum products.

“For every one litre of petrol bought Sh70 to 80 goes to levies and taxes. This is a government that has made the economy bleed.

"The shilling has weakened against the dollar. The debt level has reached Sh13 trillion and subsidies are not working,” he said.

Duale however said Kenya Kwanza is determined to fix what he termed as the mess created by Uhuru’s administration.

He said Kenyans cannot wait to go the ballot and elect their next crop of leaders and a government that will respond to their needs and that is Kenya Kwanza.

“Our transformative agenda of uplifting the common mwananchi through the bottom-up economic model, job creation and universal health care is real,” Duale said.

Uhuru endorsed Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga as his preferred successor, after falling out with Deputy President William Ruto.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)