- Ruto said Nairobi votes will be critical in his fight against people who have "never slept hungry."
- He said his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM boss Raila Odinga are out of touch with reality.
Image: Image: MERCY MUMO
Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday continued with his attacks on President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, accusing them of "disrespect and contempt."
Ruto traversed parts of the capital city, promising to create a "hustlers' government."
He said Nairobi votes will be critical in his fight against people who have "never slept hungry."
He said Uhuru and Raila are out of touch with reality.
“If they have never slept hungry, how can they plan how you can have access to food and low commodity prices?” the DP said.
Ruto accused the two of plotting the country’s economic downturn through massive conflict of interest in firms trading with government without remitting taxes.
The DP blamed the duo for the skyrocketing food and other essential commodity prices, saying they should be ready to face the wrath of Kenyans at the ballot.
“They (Uhuru and Raila) changed our food security priority plan to changing the constitution to share power," he said.
"That is why today prices of basic commodities have gone up, including sugar, salt, cooking oil and fuel. They do not understand the country’s problems."
Accompanied by his Kenya Kwanza partners, Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang'ula, Ruto tore into the two, saying their agenda is to get power.
“I helped them but now they are calling me a thief because the name of my father is not known. Many of the Kenyan hustlers' fathers’ names are not known,” he said.
Earlier, Ruto held a meeting with Kenya Private Sector Alliance where he unveiled his plan to turn around the economy, saying he will enhance tax collection.
The government should collect Sh2.8 trillion in taxes every year instead of the current Sh1.6 trillion, he said.
“That way we can reduce the appetite for borrowing and begin the journey of running our affairs on our taxes with less on borrowing," the DP said.
“Why are we collecting 14 per cent of our GDP when we should be collecting 22 per cent? We need to increase efficiency in tax collection through digitisation. We can collect an additional Sh250 billion every year.”
Ruto said increasing the productivity of farmers was the easiest way to revive the economy as 60 per cent of Kenyans engage in some sort of farming.
“We can increase productivity of agriculture within two to three months if we deploy adequate resources to farmers," he said.
"That way, we can transform this country in a very short while and stop Kenya being the potential and become the reality.”
Ruto said Sh170 billion worth of food items are imported into the country every year.
“Edible oil alone is 60-70 billion yet we can grow it in Kenya. So, we already have a market for what we will produce,” he said.
Ruto further said that Kenyans in micro and medium enterprises make only a dollar a day.
“We should give them loans so that they can expand their businesses and protect their investments to stop running away from county council askaris,” he said.
Mudavadi said Kenya Kwanza is keen on giving Kenyans an economy that works for all.
“We are not trying to create a division between the cadres of our economic players but creating a synergy that will bring harmony for big or small, slender or broad enterprises,” he said.
He also said the government has been deploying resources in areas that do not create an impact on the economy.
“These are the questions we need to ask ourselves. We have seen a decline of the cooperative movement. We want to have a situation where when you organise a rally during the weekday, nobody comes because they are working,” he said.
Speaking in Makadara, Wetang'ula said Raila was keen on appointing Uhuru as his adviser after retirement, saying that would confirm their fears that the latter wants to rule through proxy.
“How can you bring the person who caused all the problems to solve them. That is not possible,” the Ford Kenya boss said.
He said their government will "regain dignity and respect" for ordinary wananchi like boda boda operators and mama mboga.
In another stinging attack on Raila, Wetang'ula questioned the ODM leader's move to "dodge a straightforward question about what he will do with the pandora papers."
During a Q&A session at Chatham House on Wednesday, Raila was asked how his government would deal with his handshake partner's links to the Pandora Papers.
“We have said that nobody is indispensable in the government," the Azimio presidential candidate said.
"And if you want to carry out a successful war against corruption, you must begin with yourself. If any member of your family is caught, you ought to ensure that action is taken.”
(edited by Amol Awuor)