President William Ruto has defended the Government to Government deal between Kenya and Saudi Arabia saying it was transparently done.
He said the deal was necessary to ease the pressure on the Dollar.
He argued that pressure on the Greenback had resulted in an oil shortage in the country.
The President explained that the Government is not a broker in the deal but a mere guarantor for international oil firms to supply the crucial commodity for six months on credit.
“The international oil companies sell fuel directly to oil marketers in Kenya. The entire process is private sector-driven,” he said.
President Ruto made the remarks on Friday evening during the closing of the two-day Government officials retreat in Nairobi.
The meeting sought to assess the administration’s one-year progress.
The remarks by Ruto came a day after the opposition chief Raila Odinga labelled the Government-to-Government deal as a major scandal in waiting.
Raila said the deal is riddled with fraudulent dealings that have roped in senior officials in President William Ruto's government.
“Well, the deal was a scam for which we now demand full disclosure and full accountability. It is corrupt and rotten to the core,” Raila said.
“Other than keeping the cost of oil permanently high in Kenya, the deal is costing the country dearly in terms of trade in petroleum with landlocked neighbours."
The President, however, downplayed the allegations by Raila and said he was committed to running a transparent and accountable Government devoid of scandals.
“I want to assure them [the Opposition] that the fishing they are doing for a scandal in this administration, they are not about to succeed,” he said.
He, however, asked Kenyans not to shy away from questioning the Government saying they are ready to take useful feedback.
The Head of State noted that the Government will not use its foreign currency reserves to prop up the value of the Kenyan Shilling against the dollar.
He said the last administration used over USD 2 Billion to keep an artificial rate of the Kenyan Shilling.
“This is a liberal market, we will do what we have to do, we will export more, manufacture more to strengthen our shilling,” he said.
