The Sh3.02 trillion budget is huge, but it ignores the needs of the ordinary Kenyan. It may not only be unsustainable but has gaps which may turn it into a burden to Wanjiku. Any ideal budget is, above everything, supposed to address the plight of the citizens first. Currently, most Kenyans struggle to get basic needs. Most do not afford food and clothing. Scores of others do not have access to housing.
But this budget ignored these problems. It did not endeavour to make the life of a Kenyan better. Kenyans expected a reduction in prices of basic commodities. But the budget overlooked this. Kenyans will continue grappling with unemployment. Treasury CS Henry Rotich said to reduce the wage bill, the government will restrict the hiring of workers, meaning unemployment is here to stay.
He further aggravated joblessness, saying new projects will not be rolled out until the ongoing ones are completed. This insinuates that the ordinary Kenyan will remain a jobless taxpayer while a few characters shamelessly continue plundering the taxes of the poor Kenyan. The budget did not show how food security is going to be achieved. Agriculture is one of the Big Four agenda, but the budget did not show how it will revive the embattled sector.
The other three agenda; universal healthcare, housing and industrialisation did not get a good treatment too. Rotich’s sentiments that the budget seeks to expedite the realisation of the agenda are empty because the budget does not convince Wanjiku how this is going to be achieved.
In future, the Treasury boss should put the interest of the ordinary Kenyan first when budgeting, not to please the few rich people at the expense of common citizens who are equally paying tax.
