Bring Ruto back to earth, Raila comes out gun blazing

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga has said President William Ruto seems to be out of touch with the current situation in the country.

According to him, even as the head of state continues to propose new taxes, he seems to be adamant about the Kenyans' suffering.

“It is urgent that we bring Ruto back to Earth because he lives on another planet,” Raila said.

He spoke on Thursday in Nairobi and claimed that President Ruto’s government has borrowed more funds than any other regime, yet many government services were not being provided.

“They have removed subsidies, raised taxes but the cash crunch has continued. They cannot pay salaries. They cannot disburse money to schools. They cannot disburse money to counties,” Raila said.

“They cannot disburse money to the elderly, they cannot finance the NHIF. And nearly all major infrastructure projects have stalled. Where is the money going to?”

He claimed Ruto is trying to change the country’s debt ceiling from the current absolute number of Sh10 trillion to a moving number of 55 per cent of GDP.

“The debt level is already 60 per cent of GDP. To beat that violation of the law, Ruto wants to force an amendment to the Public Finance Act to allow the National Treasury and not Parliament, to set a new debt ceiling,” Raila said.

The opposition leader called on Kenyans to reject the proposed taxes to save the country's economy.

“As this Bill heads to the National Assembly, we must remind Ruto that excessive taxation is stifling growth. We must tell Ruto that when people have to park cars at home and postpone travelling upcountry because they can’t afford fuel or fare, it is bad for the economy,” Raila said.