President William Ruto has instructed Treasury to reduce his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta’s, last national budget by Ksh300 billion.
While addressing Parliament on Thursday, September 29, Ruto noted that the Treasury will coordinate work with several ministries to cut down on wasteful expenditures.
He explained that the government had to borrow money from other financial institutions because the budget was excessive and unsustainable. Uhuru’s last budget read by outgoing Treasury CS Ukur Yatani totalled Ksh3.3 trillion.
“Over the next three years, we must go back to the situation where the government contributes to the national saving scheme. To this end, I have instructed the Treasury to work with ministries to find at least Ksh300 billion in this year’s budget because the market cannot sustain the kind of borrowing adopted as a government,” Ruto announced.
Ruto noted that the majority of the money the government borrowed was used for ongoing expenses like the wage bill, saying that the practice would not help the economy grow.
He declared, “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.”
Ruto also opined that excessive borrowing by Uhuru’s government has harmed the savings scheme as financial institutions cannot focus on maintaining pension schemes.
In exchange, he disclosed that his administration would work to review the national social security fund (NSSF) in order to guarantee Kenyans’ future by reviewing the saving culture.
The contribution of businesses to saving and investment efforts has been undermined, he claimed, due to the government’s extremely large borrowing.
However, his promise to slash the budget attracted criticism from Azimio la Umoja leaders who opined that he had more to do than make empty pledges.
“I have heard the President ask the ministries to look for savings of up to Ksh300 billion in this year alone, while at the same time he is not making any mention of how to deal with corruption.
“There is no way the ministries are going to save that kind of money yet you as the president are not dealing with corruption,” Ugunja MP and Azimio La Umoja politician, Opiyo Wandayi stated.
