NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 11-Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused President William Ruto’s administration of presiding over a growing cost-of-living crisis, alleging that the government “steals” about Sh3 billion from Kenyans every day.

📻 Breaking It Down

Gachagua, who was delivering his four-year performance audit of the Ruto administration, claimed the figure translates to Sh125 million every hour and Sh2.08 million every minute.

“This regime, on a borrowing spree, borrows an average of Sh3.5 billion per day and steals Sh3 billion per day. Why borrow to steal?” Gachagua said.

He accused the government of increasing the tax burden on households while simultaneously borrowing heavily to finance its programmes.

📌 What You Need to Know

According to Gachagua, Kenya’s public debt has risen from Sh8.66 trillion in August 2022 to Sh13.02 trillion, with every Kenyan carrying a debt burden of about Sh221,898.

He claimed the Ruto administration is borrowing an average of Sh1.4 trillion annually, compared with about Sh700 billion under the Jubilee administration and Sh200 billion under the Grand Coalition Government.

Gachagua said the rising debt had not translated into sufficient development and questioned why the government was borrowing to finance recurrent expenditure.

The former Deputy President linked the government’s economic policies to the rising cost of living, pointing to higher petroleum prices as a major source of pressure on households.

He noted that Super Petrol retailed at Sh159.12 per litre on August 8, 2022, compared with Sh214.03 currently, while diesel had risen from Sh140 to Sh222.86 per litre.

Gachagua said the increases represented rises of 34.05 per cent for petrol and 59.18 per cent for diesel, contributing to higher transport and food costs.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya