Gachagua: Kenya is broke, it'll take 3 months to reduce cost of living

"The situation is very bad. There is no money in the treasury."

In Summary

•Gachagua disclosed that it will take about two to three months to get the country back on track.

•The Deputy President asked Kenyans for patience saying they did not expect to find the government in the current financial state.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua giving his maiden address at the Kasarani Stadium on September 13, 2022.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua giving his maiden address at the Kasarani Stadium on September 13, 2022.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua now says they inherited a broke government with no cash at the treasury.

Speaking in an interview with NTV, Gachagua disclosed that it will take about two to three months to get the country back on track.

The Deputy President asked Kenyans for patience saying they did not expect to find the government in the current financial state.

"The situation is very bad. There is no money in the treasury. And the little that we are collecting goes to payment of salaries," he said.

"We need to do a lot to boost production. We must spend a lot of time and money on agriculture and that is the way to go. And I can tell the people of Kenya in another 2-3 months they will start seeing things picking up."

The Deputy President defended move to remove fuel subsidy saying it is the first step to finding a sustainable solution to the problems facing Kenyans.

He said the fuel subsidy was a short term solution that would have crashed the economy in the long run.

"We are looking for a permanent and sustainable solution. It would have been deceptive to Kenyans to continue subsidizing the fuel only for a short while and then have an economic shutdown," he said.

"I want to urge our people to be patient because things will work out. We do not want a solution that is temporary or deceptive like the one done for unga."

He, however, maintained that the Kenya Kwanza government is committed to ensuring that the cost of living is lowered for the benefit of Kenyans as they pledged during the campaigns.

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