Friday September 30, 2022 – President William Ruto has realized he has no money to actualize his many campaign pledges.
To free some money for his projects, Ruto instructed the Treasury to reduce his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta’s last budget by Ksh300 billion to kickstart his government in its efforts to make life easy for hustlers.
While addressing Parliament on Thursday, Ruto told the Treasury to work with various ministries to cut down on unnecessary things that were budgeted for.
He explained that the budget was too huge and forced the government to borrow from other financial institutions, saying that it was unsustainable.
“Over the next three years, we must go back to the situation where the government contributes to the national savings scheme.”
“To this end, I have instructed the Treasury to work with ministries to find at least Ksh 300 billion in this year’s budget because the market cannot sustain the kind of borrowing we are doing as a government,” he announced.
Uhuru’s last budget read by outgoing Treasury CS Ukur Yatani was projected at Ksh3.3 trillion.
The head of state further explained that most of the money that was being borrowed by the government was going to recurrent expenditures such as the payment of salaries, asserting that the practice would not develop the economy.
“I am committed and determined to ensure that our tax system is responsive to the needs of the economy. It must be equitable, efficient and friendly,” he stated.
Ruto also opined that excessive borrowing by Uhuru’s government had affected the savings scheme as financial institutions could not focus on pension schemes.
In return, he revealed that his administration would work towards the savings scheme through the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to ensure that the future of Kenyans is guaranteed.
“The very large government borrowing has undermined businesses’ contribution to saving and investment efforts,” he stated.
However, the move by Ruto to slash the budget saw him get criticism from Azimio la Umoja leaders who opined that reducing the budget was not enough.
The Kenyan DAILY POST.
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