President Ruto not so long ago called on Kenyans to "live within our means". The statement seemed not to sit well with most Kenyans, especially since he was refusing to honour the government’s CBA with doctors, who had downed their tools for more than 40 days.
However, looking at the positive side of things, considering the bigger picture—the same thing HRs tell employees when they don’t want to revise their salaries upwards—we could just close our eyes and let the government squeeze the last gulp of oxygen from our lungs for the sake of 'living within our means'.
We could just accept those unsalted peanuts for a salary. We could allow the taxman to take one more shilling from our hurting pockets, all for the sake of patriotism. However, just how does this ‘living within our means’ look like?
Let’s try to put things into perspective here. During Uhuru Kenyatta’s last year in office as president, the government spent Sh87.2 million on the president’s advisers. The Kenya Kwanza regime, due to its love for Baba Mboga and Wanjiku wa boda boda, plans to cough up Sh1.1 billion to the President’s team of advisers stationed at State House for the financial year starting July.
This ‘advisers’ budget’ is being revised upward from Sh977 million in the FY ending June. Among those advisers is a team called the Presidential Council of Economic Advisers led by Dr David Ndii. This team is set to spend Sh23 million on entertainment and Sh9.4 million on communication items such as mobile phones and airtime.
As to whether they do not have mobile phones at the moment, we shall revisit; but for now, let us dwell on the entertainment bit. Entertainment, fellow Kenyans, entertainment is costing us Sh23 million.
The very office that is urging the President to cut the budget on other Kenyans, including doctors who had to sweat blood to have their cries heard, is also allocating funds for its entertainment to the tune of Sh23 million.
This comes at a time when flood victims – people whose livelihoods, hope and dignity have been swept away by the raging waters – are being compensated with a mere Sh10,000.
In the first half of the current financial year, State House surpassed its expenditure budget by Sh450 million. Treasury had to allocate State House Sh2.53 billion more to cater for the overly ambitious spending in the House on the Hill, pushing the total annual budget for the President’s official residence to Sh9.84 billion.
Let no one, for even a split second, think that Harambee House – the official office of the president – falls under the State House budget. Harambee House has its own budget, which also overshot by Sh270 million by the end of the first half of the financial year ending June 30.
Is the President truly living within his means, or was this statement intended for specific demographics—watu ya mjengo and maybe mkokoteni people? Or maybe we are starting to live within our means down here moving upwards?
Prior to the formation of the Kenya Kwanza coalition, Ruto was in the Jubilee coalition as deputy party leader. In Jubilee, they had a mantra, ‘Kusema na Kutenda’ which can be translated to honouring promises.
How about Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua? The DP has coined a very honourable name for himself—The truthful man. This begs the question: Are our leaders at the highest echelons of power honouring their words and being candid with the electorate?
The best way to lead is to lead by example and the President needs to do exactly that. While Kenyans’ pockets are bleeding, renovation of State House with close to Sh800 million could wait.
Buying new guzzlers for the President and other top officials could wait. Spending Sh23 million on entertaining the President’s advisers could be deemed not a priority for the time being. Let us start correcting the mess from up there because fish starts rotting from the head.