President William Ruto on Wednesday, June 26, backed down by declining to sign the Finance Bill, 2024, which sparked protests across the country after its passage in Parliament, saying he has listened to the views of Kenyans.
However, even as he did this, protesters continued piling pressure on the President, insisting they wanted to march to State House, Nairobi, a move that led the Government to deploy both police and the military to contain the Gen Z demonstrators.
In an address to the nation earlier, the President said that he would concede to 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with this Finance Bill, 2024, I concede and, therefore, I will not sign the 2024 Finance Bill and shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said.
He said he would engage the young people and listen to their issues. The decision means he has withdrawn plans to raise taxes.
“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,” he 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,” he 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 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 had 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 Sh240 to Sh100.
“We have also reduced the cost of fertiliser from Sh7,000 to Sh2,500. 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.
According to him, for every Sh100 the Government collects in taxes, Sh61 goes to pay debts.
“We have paid Kenya’s Sh260 billion ($2 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 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
Several initiatives, including the affordable housing programme, were being implemented to create job opportunities for young people.
“As we speak, 160,000 young people are working in the affordable housing programme in various capacities,” said President Ruto.
