Raila’s Recipe: The One Move Ruto Needs for Cheaper Living Costs
Raila Odinga, the leader of Azimio, has proposed measures that the government of President William Ruto should adopt to reduce the cost of living.
Raila stated that, one year after the new government came into power, it was time to recalibrate economic policy in its entirety.
The leader of Azimio stated that nation-building requires the honest, devoted, and laborious efforts of both leaders and citizens.
He stated, however, that leadership is all that is required to reestablish and transform any nation.
“There is a devastating loss of trust and confidence in our economy, our financial markets, and our government. We are caught in a cycle where reduced spending power leads to loss of jobs which leads to even less spending; where people can’t borrow because rates charged are too high, yet lack of borrowing slows growth and leads to even less credit,” he said.
The chief executive officer of Azimio stated that lowering the cost of living is an economic imperative.
He stated that to accomplish this, the government should provide citizens with some fundamental alleviation, such as tax cuts and production stimulation.
According to Raila, to allocate funds for the attainment of these goals, the government must reduce the budget by approximately 500 billion shillings.
“We must cut fuel taxes and raise social welfare payments. At this time of duress, we demand tax cuts, not increases. Kenyans needed to see their taxes go down, not up. We believe the current taxation regime is not sustainable,” he said.
He stated that to stimulate economic activity, the government must reduce interest rates and increase production.
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Azimio advocates for the expansion and continuation of the Kazi Mtaani program by Kenya Kwanza.
Raila advocated for an end to the government’s mismanagement of public funds.
According to him, state agencies with overlapping responsibilities should be eliminated.
“Why do we have coordination of international development partnerships at both the Deputy president’s office and the ministry of foreign affairs, complete with budget lines while the National Treasury also runs an external resources department? At the same time, we need to stop the duplication of devolved functions at the national level,” Raila said.
He stated that practical debt management is necessary because Kenya has fallen into a debt rut and is forced to borrow more money to satisfy its obligations.
Raila stated that the National Treasury should request that delinquent payments be postponed until a future date, as opposed to continuing to make them.
He advocated for the nation to avoid tax defaults.
Azimio advocates for a forum comprising representatives from corporate entities, political parties, governmental bodies, and civil society to assess the Hustler Fund and other significant government initiatives.
Raila’s Recipe: The One Move Ruto Needs for Cheaper Living Costs
