President William Ruto will not sign the Finance Bill into law and has called for its withdrawal.
Saying he has listened to the views of Kenyans, the President pointed out that he would go by the wishes of the people.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya , who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 Finance Bill and shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said during a televised address from State House, Nairobi.
President Ruto said he would engage the young people and listen to their issues .
“I also propose that within the next 14 days, a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder engagement be held with a view to charting the way forward on matters relating to the content of the Bill as well as auxiliary issues raised in recent days on the need for austerity measures and strengthening our fight against corruption,” the President said.
At the same time, President Ruto directed that further austerity measures be taken to reduce expenditure, starting with the Executive Office of the President and extending to the entire Executive.
“I direct that operational expenditure in the Presidency be reduced to remove allocations for the confidential vote, reduce travel budget, hospitality and buying of vehicles, renovations and other expenditures,” the President said.
In equal measure, President Ruto directed that Parliament, the Judiciary and county governments work with the National Treasury and undertake budget cuts to ensure that the the government achieves what he has always advocated: Living within our means.
“As we hold this important conversation, I remind us that we should proceed within the foundational principles upon which our nation is founded: Constitutionalism, adherence to the rule of law and respect for constitutional institutions,” the President said.
He also cited some of the initiatives that his administration has achieved since taking office.
President Ruto said his administration has worked hard and consistently, leading to the reduction of prices of essential commodities such as ‘unga’ which have reduced from KSh240 to KSh100.
“We have also reduced the cost of fertiliser from KSh7,000 to KSh2,500. The shilling has also strengthened against the dollar,” he said.
The President explained that the economic measures the government had taken were yielding results and the country had weaned itself of the burden of debt distress.
He disclosed that for every KSh100 the government collects in taxes, KSh61 goes into paying debts.
“We have paid Kenya’s $2 billion (KSh260 billion) Eurobond debt that was borrowed in 2014 and has been hanging around our neck. We paid the last instalment of $500 million last week,” he said.
The President said the government has made significant progress in pulling the nation back from the brink of debt distress.
“Our debt situation is better managed, and our budget now has space for investment in programmes aimed at easing the hardship of vulnerable people
and creating opportunities for the youth,” he said.
President Ruto noted that the country’s GDP grew by 5.6 per cent in 2023, making Kenya the 27th fastest-growing economy in the world.
“Our inflation figures have fallen from 8 per cent in May 2023 to 5 per cent in April this year,” he said
The President said several initiatives, including the affordable housing programme, are being implemented to create job opportunities for young people.
“As we speak, 160,000 young people are working in the affordable housing project in various capacities,” said President Ruto.
