NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 16 – Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has asked President William Ruto to give Kenyans a break poking holes on the State of the Nation address which he claims wasn’t a reflection of the real status of the nation.
During an interview on Citizen TV, the Nairobi Senator expressed that he deliberately skipped the address issued last week on Thursday by the Head of State in Parliament given what he alleged as his history of telling lies.
“So going into that state of the Nation Address, I knew he was going to come and gloss over issues. And because our standing orders require that we hear him in silence. I am not in the nature of sitting quietly when people are telling lies. I suspected that I was going to shout and say that is a lie,” Sifuna stated.
The Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General explained that the State of Nation Address ought to be discussed in people’s arena saying the standing orders of the house don’t avail the opportunity to point out lies during the address.
“The State of the Nation is a state of the people. So if you want to know the state of a nation just speak to the people, are people able to feed their families, are they able to afford rent and they are looking at school fees in the coming New Year,” Sifuna noted.
The Nairobi Senator watered down the State of the Nation Address by President Ruto saying it failed to address critical issues Kenyans are grappling with including the high level of unemployment in the nation.
“If you have a president speaking to Parliament for a whole one hour and he has not told you how many jobs he has created because he has created new jobs, that tells you there is a problem if he has not told you that he has made the lives of the people better than you found them. Then there is a problem,” said Sifuna.
Sifuna advised the Head of State to admit to Kenyans that his government is facing challenges in dealing with issues grappling Kenyans instead of painting a glossy picture which was not the factual status on the ground.
“And it is because he’s defending the indefensible. Tell the people the truth come to the house and admit that things are difficult. explain to them why you’re meting pain on them every day,” he said.
In his inaugural State of the Nation Address to a joint session of Parliament, President William Ruto pledged the government’s unwavering commitment to addressing the soaring cost of living.
However, he cautioned that stringent measures would be put in place to achieve this goal.
President Ruto acknowledged that the combination of the Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions in the global supply chain, and geopolitical conflicts had significantly contributed to rising inflation.
He highlighted the pressing need for practical and sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by Kenyans, emphasizing that the country had been living beyond its means.
“As I told Kenyans on my first day in office, times were difficult, and many people are struggling, necessitating urgent and effective sustainable solutions. We must admit that as a country, we had been living large and way beyond our means,” President Ruto stated.
The President explained that the government had directed its efforts towards agricultural investments as a means to mitigate the impact of high living costs. He reaffirmed his commitment to ending hunger in Kenya.
