• You do not need to change the 2010 Constitution to give the youth interest-free loans.
• It is a waste of time and money as it does not demonstrate how the common man will benefit.
Image: DPPS
Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday tore into the Building Bridges Initiative, saying Kenyans do not need it at all.
In blatant defiance of his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto said the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020 - currently before county assemblies - is a waste of time.
It's a waste of time and money and does not demonstrate how the common man and woman will benefit.
“Before they bring the referendum, can they explain to the common man how the position of Prime Minister and his two deputies and some 200 additional MPs will put food on the table for the ordinary Kenyan?" the Deputy President asked.
Ruto blamed the handshake between the President and ODM leader Raila Odinga for the failures of Jubilee administration.
Ruto had pushed for several changes to the draft bill, some of which were included in the final draft launched in November last year.
After the launch, Ruto pushed for a consensus among the top leaders before the plebiscite. He failed.
But he has now come out guns blazing to oppose changes to the Constitution.
The referendum is considered an early contest between Ruto and Raila to succeed the President.
Addressing a roadside rally in Burma, Nairobi, Ruto said proponents of the constitutional amendments should stop lying to Kenyans that the law review would change the fortunes of the country.
“We want them to speak the truth. You do not need to change the 2010 Constitution to give the youth interest-free loans. Just put money into the Uwezo Fund. A referendum is not needed for that,” Ruto said.
The DP said supporters of BBI should not lie to Kenyans that the national government will increase its allocations to counties from 15 per cent to 35 per cent with new laws.
“At the moment, the government owes counties Sh100 billion. If the national government cannot pay 15 per cent, why should we expect it to pay 35 per cent,” he asked.
With the DP were MPs Isaac Mwaura (Nominated), Senator Millicent Omanga (Nominated), MP Mohammed Ali (Nyali), John Kiarie (Dagoretti South) and former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
Raila, on the other hand, has been holding rallies and meeting various groups to drum up support for the BBI.
His counterparts Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) and Gideon Moi (Kanu) have also been going round popularising the BBI.
The rallies have lately seen leaders from across the political divide brutally insult each other.
In his address to traders in Burma, Ruto said his hustler narrative is not a war pitting the rich against the poor. “The hustler movement is about fighting poverty and negative ethnicity,” he added.
He stated that his rivals had sensed defeat and resorted to saying that he is inciting the poor against the rich.
“We have outsmarted them. That is why they are just talking about hustlers and wheelbarrows. People are enlightened and want to know how they will be empowered economically,” he added.
Ruto further said Raila should stop talking about the failures of the Jubilee administration since he is now part of the government.
“When you came to Jubilee and said Uhuru is your brother, didn’t you realise that there were no stadiums and millions of jobs were not there? If you want to leave, do it without causing so much commotion,” the DP said.
He expressed confidence that the next government will be formed by hustlers.
“Do not worry about what they are planning. They might have the system, they might be 'the deep state' but I have God and the people,” he stated.
Ali and Sonko said the hustler movement will liberate the country from poverty and negative ethnicity.
(Edited by V. Graham)