NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 19 – Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi has hit out at the Government for employing unorthodox ways to raise funds to service loans.
Mudavadi said the means the Government is using to raise money to pay loans is hurting Kenyans more and pushing many to desperation.
The AN leader who is eying the presidency in next year’s election said the high cost of living is driving many Kenyans to also breaking homes and sending many others, particularly the youth, to crime.
Mudavadi lashed out at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration for hiking fuel prices saying the move is counter-productive to the well-being of Kenyans.
He said the Government cannot depend on high cost of fuel as a means of raising funds to meet its international and local debt obligation.
“Why is the Government paining Kenyans through increased fuel prices? It is because through petroleum products, it finds quick revenue to fix its debts. This is unacceptable,” said Mudavadi.
Speaking during an interview at Kameme TV, Mudavadi said the solution to paying debts is not on increasing taxes rather renegotiating and rescheduling the debts.
The 2022 presidential candidate has now urged the government to put a halt to some of the mega projects it is undertaking, and redirect the funds to paying the debts and injecting the same into the economy to boost the production and manufacturing sectors.
“The Government needs to suspend some of its projects so that it can reduce the burden of servicing those projects from mwananchi through taxes,” he said.
In its monthly review of petroleum products prices, the Government increased the cost of petrol by Sh8 to reach the highest ever price of Sh135 per litre in Nairobi.
With the increase in fuel prices, the impact is felt across board with prices of goods and services expected to increase, pushing the burden to the ordinary Kenyan who will dip more into the pocket to meet the high cost of living.
And to salvage the situation, Mudavadi has also called on the Government to fight corruption and seal all loopholes of financial misuse in ministries, while at the same time recovering the looted monies from convicted individuals.
“The Government must fight corruption including those who looted dams’ monies like Aror and Kimwarer, yet wananchi are still waiting for water,” he added.
On the ban of political talk in church pulpits, Mudavadi has thrown his weight behind the calls by some churches to bar politicians from using the church as ground to spew political rhetoric and hate speech.
He said, the Church should be an institution of spreading and preaching peace, love and unity and not a forum where politicians spew abuses at each other.
“The Church is the moral compass of the society. I agree with the church leaders’ decision to bar politicians from fanning politics in churches. It is true that some politicians have been spinning hate and abuses in churches. That must stop,” he said.
The former Vice President once again took issue with the strained relationship between the President and his deputy saying the acrimonious friendship of the two was not healthy for the daily running of the Government and the country at large.
“This may trickle down to the Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, parastatal heads and to the public service, depending on the affiliations of the officials occupying those positions with either the President or the deputy,” he said.
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