The minority leader of ODM Opiyo Wandayi has realised a press on the worsening state of economy and Gov’t financial crisis.
He says: “Last week, we raised alarm over the financial catastrophe building up in the country, with indications that we are facing bankruptcy as inflation reaches new highs, food prices skyrocket, and the country’s finances dry up.
“We believe that this near collapse of our finance sector is exacerbated by high government non-priority spending, high taxes that have hurt businesses, massive loan obligations to China, weakening shillingband foreign exchange reserves at their lowest levels ever.
“Since our statement last week, we have come acrosSs even more disturbing facts. We have established that the state of our national revenue collection by the Kenya Revenue Authority is Worse than we thought.
“First, this financial year that ends in two months, the country targets to collect a total of Kshs 2.1 trillion as tax revenues (according to the Estimates of Revenue, Grants and Loans for the Year Ending 30th Junev2023, duly approved by the National Assembly).
“However, KRA has managed to collect only Kshs 1.2 trillion as at end of February 2023, leading to a shortfall of Kshs 900 billion that is not realistically achievable within the remaining two months.
“Secondly, there is a serious waning trust in Government Securities. The National Treasury plans to borrow Ksh 1.04 trillion from the domestic market in the period ending June 2023. But Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) records show that the government has managed to raise only a paltry Kshs. 333 billion as at the end of February 2023, leading to a shortfall of approximately Kshs. 707 billion.
“The results of the CBK ten-year Treasury bond dated April 10, 2023, indicate that the government only managed to get bids worth Kshs. 3.57 billion from a bid offer of Kshs. 20 billion. This represents a paltry 17.85 percent even after the government increased the bond interest rate to anball-time high of 14. 39 percent.
“Third, there is complete stoppage of Priority Development Spending by the National Government. The originally approved development expenditure by the National Government for the financial year 2022/2023 of Kshs. 715 billion was drastically reduced by half to Kshs. 393 billion under Supplementary Budget number one of 2022/2023.
“Despite this serious cut on the development expenditure budget,
only Kshs. 162.5 billion has been released to some MDAs for development spending. Key development spending Ministries/Departments such as State Department for Housing & Urban Development have so far only received a paltry 7.85 percent of its total revised development expenditure estimates for the year while the State Department for Irrigation, State Department for Correctional Services, State Department for Forestry, so far, have received zero shilling for development.
“Surprisingly, the Executive Office of the President has received Kshs 1 billion out of its revised
development budget of Kshs. 2 billion for luxuries such as new cars and furniture.
“Fourth, there is complete failure to release funds to counties. The Official National Treasury Exchequer release data indicates that Counties are lagging in receiving their equitable share of the revenue from the National Government. As of March 2023, the National Treasury has released only a paltry Kshs. 141 billion out of the equitable share of Kshs. 370 billion for the financial year 2022/2023. Counties have not received their share of national revenues for January to April 2023.
“After our statement last week, the Kenya Kwanza regime, which all along was silent on the building
catastrophe, has come out, with many conflicting statements. The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. David Ndii, has blamed the problem on matured Chinese loans.
“How Chinese loans stopped KRA from meeting its revenue targets, only Ndii knows. Treasury CS Dr. Njuguna Ndungu and Treasury PS Dr. Chris Kiptoo have merely confirmed what we already know; that the situation is bad and Kenyans should tighten their belts.
“KRA, on the other hand, maintains it has done its bit. Yesterday, KRA claimed that it had met over 95 percent of its original target and is looking forward to recording a surplus by June. This sounds like fairy tale. Somebody must be busy manufacturing new targets at every turn!
“At the same time, Dr. Ndii has said they are considering retrenching civil servants to deal with the uneasy situation, It is clear we are dealing with a tower of Babel whose builders are busy telling Kenyans how bad things are and how Kenyans must tighten their belts.
“We maintain that KRA and the National Treasury owe;Kenyans an explanation on the whereabout of their money. We reject, in totality, this mode of governing by way of apocalyptic pronouncements.
“We reject governance by buck-passing and apportioning blame. We believe the time has come for Kenya Kwanza to provide solutions, not excuses. More importantly, we reject any attempt to pass the burden to the people in the name of the people tightening their belts. Kenyans are suffering enough already. There can be no more tightening of the belt. Either the people get solutions or Kenya Kwanza gets out of the people’s way.
“We repeat a question we asked last week; Kenya Kwanza removed subsidies on food and fuel. Kenya Kwanza then proceeded to increase taxes.
Where is the money saved from subsidies and those raised from taxes going? How can we save and raise taxes, only to get poorer?
“The Kenya Kwanza regime has constantly claimed that it inherited huge foreign debts. Why then has Kenya Kwanza continued with borrowing instead of seeking to restructure our debts?
“Is it the regime’s policy to fixa hole by digging another hole? If the administration has cash flow problems, why is it living large instead of living within its means? Why is Mr. William Ruto and his ministers always airborne? What is the value of these trips to the Country?
“Why is Kenya Kwanza creating more positions and offices like those of CAS when we know we don’t have the money? Our currency, the Kenya shilling, has been fast losing value not only against the dollar but even against local currencies like the Tanzania shilling. Why had the Kenya Kwanza administration remained silent on the unfolding crisis until we smoked it out? More importantly, what is it doing to reverse the situation?
If the regime is not able to contain the slide of the shilling, then why have they not raised salaries in the public sector and the minimum wage in all sectors in in tandem with the deterioration of the shilling value? If you have allowed the Kenya shilling to lose value, it is only natural that you should raise the salaries of the people who are paid in Kenya shilling.
“As a Party, we believe that things are not adding up. We believe that all the bad people who have messed up our economy in the past and hold critical positions in this regime are brewing this crisis and benefiting from it.
“Therefore:
- We need a committee of legislators and finance experts to urgently examine the expenditurebregime, administration, and policies obtaining at the National Treasury, the Kenya Revenue Authority, Registrar of Persons, Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Ports Authority and associated public bodies in the revenue generation and collection chain.
- That committee should also examine and come up with a coherent explanation of where we are, how we got here and the government’s response which, so far, borders on gross neglect and dereliction of duty.
- We want a firm guarantee from this regime that the bad boys in its ranks are not creating grounds for the printing of money to fund salaries for government workers, curry favor with the military and pay political opponents.
- We are seriously concerned that should this regime come under political and economic pressure, it will revert to the tricks of the past, including the printing of money.
- We believe that the many well-known crooks and corrupt officials who have been appointed to key positions by this regime are certainly on a stealing spree. Most of them are thieves by
nature. They are termites eating the country from the vantage positions they hold. Kenyans are
suffering because of those crooks. Those appointments need to be revoked. - There must be an immediate and visible end to non-essential government expenditures.
- Among the expenditures that must be cut is the appointments of Chief Administrative Secretaries.
- It is now clear that we have a bloated government. Huge number of cabinet secretaries, multiple principal secretaries, directorates, advisors, aides, departments and CASS are all gobbling up finances for no demonstrable good value for money.
- This mess is killing the counties. It is killing our people who are being asked to tighten their belts. Ruto must cut or completely abolish money being spent on political operations that are disguised as relief food distribution or fundraisers. It makes no sense at all fora Cabinet secretary or a principal secretary to spend Ksh20 million on a chopper to distribute 1 million shillings worth of food. That is a job a chief or assistant chief or even MCA can do. It makes no sense for a principal secretary to spend Ksh10 million on a chopper to deliver Ksh200,000 on a fundraiser. This madness must stop in the interest of austerity.
- We have advised our people on how to take charge whenever such a display of waste is happening in their neighbourhood.
- Unnecessary domestic and international travel, conferences and workshops, training must not only end but must be seen to have ended.
- We have advised Kenyans on what to do with any such conferences and retreats by government officials whose value is not clear.
- We repeat. Kenyans can’t and won’t tighten their belts any further. They have had enough. Their next available course of action is to force Kenya Kwanza to tighten its belt or force it out.
- We repeat. No civil servant is going to be retrenched while Ruto is busy hiring CASs and other personnel the country doesn’t need. Not under our watch.”
