NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 28 – Azimio-One Kenya Presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua have pledged to lower the cost of living in Kenay within the first 100 days in office if successful in their Presidential bid.
Speaking during a live Television Interview, the duo vowed to to reverse this by cutting down on government expenditures.
Odinga suggested that in the meantime, the government should reduce its spending and prioristise essential services.
“You can make some adjustments, when you for example cut down on some expenditures and focus on feeding the people, making it much more bearable for the local person in the country,” he stated.
“We are really just talking about basically just essential commodities like the cost of unga, sugar, cooking oil, fuel. You can look at budget and make some adjustments in terms of expenditure, both recurrent and development.”
Karua echoed his sentiments saying they will put every effort to alleviate the suffering of Kenyans.
“During the Mwai Kibaki era, the government tried to lower the cost of living by, for instance, looking for ways of providing maize to industries at cheaper prices so as to lower the cost of flour,” she stated.
As far as the current cost of living is concerned, Odinga and Karua sought to distance themselves saying they’re not yet in government hence cannot really do anything to change it.
Odinga however stated that he has had the discussion with President Uhuru Kenyatta on the matter and tried to present to him his ideas.
He stated that his role in the current government is strictly to advise and dismissed allegations from the opposing political camp that he enjoys State privileges.
“Kenyans are not stupid, they know very well that I’m not in government. I don’t earn a salary or allowance from government, and I don’t live in a government house, but I advise. I can give some advice. It is not implementable, the user may or may not use it,” he said.
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