• On Tuesday, Ruto abolished the Kazi Mtaani programme saying it is outdated.
• He also said it will take at least a year for the cost of unga to come down.
Image: FILE
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has said ordinary city residents have reached out to him regarding the high cost of food.
He said the residents are more concerned about the availability of food than they are concerned about affordable housing.
"Many calls from Nairobi hustlers. No issues with low-cost housing. But their priority is food," Sifuna said.
The senator blamed the high cost of unga on President William Ruto's decision to withdraw subsidies on the staple product which saw the cost of a 2kg packet of maize flour cross the Sh200 mark.
Ruto on Tuesday said it will take at least a year for the cost to come down.
"Your God-chosen President took away subsidies and Unga shot up. Then he takes away Kazi Mtaani. And asks hustlers to wait 1 year for cheap Unga. 3wks bila food u die! Google it," Sifuna said.
On Tuesday, Ruto abolished the Kazi Mtaani programme saying it is outdated.
He said the programme which was introduced by his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta two years ago to cushion the youth against harsh economic conditions is old-fashioned.
Ruto, instead, said the youth will get gainful employment by working in the low-cost housing project.
"Kazi Mtaani is now outdated. Collecting garbage is not going to be the case anymore. Houses will now be our business and the youths are going to get jobs," he said.
Earlier, political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi asked the President to evaluate the reasons behind the introduction of flour and fuel subsidies and the Kazi Mtaani programme by Uhuru.