CORD pokes holes in DP Ruto's claims on Jubilee achievements

Deputy President William Ruto

Coalition for Reforms and Democracy leaders have poked holes in the Jubilee scorecard ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta's State of the Nation address today.

The Opposition leaders rebutted figures in the scorecard presented by Deputy President William Ruto arguing they were not verifiable.

Civil Society equally faulted the progress report saying the debt portfolio of Kenya had grown threefold in three years and was becoming unsustainable.

The National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee chair Nicholas Gumbo said Ruto mislead the public that 95 per cent of primary schools had electricity supply.

Fake transformers

"I challenge the Government to make public the list of schools which are connected to power. In Rarieda Constituency, some 49 per cent of schools are connected but many others have transformers that are fake and never work," he said.

Dagoreti North MP Simba Arati challenged Ruto to tell the public what action the Government had taken against corrupt Jubilee leaders.

Orange Democratic Movement Chairman John Mbadi termed Ruto's 'curtain raiser' to Uhuru's address, a public relations gimmick aimed at hoodwinking Kenyans that the Government was on track.

"The Government has failed to build capacities of independent institutions that deal with graft. It is instead frustrating them, especially the office of the Auditor General," said Mbadi.

He said the Government will not manage to complete 9,000 kilometres of tarmacked road in the remaining short period of their term.

"They promised a double digit economic growth yet they have only managed 5.7 per cent and the debt repayment level has soared to scaring levels of 20 per cent," said the Suba MP.

Homa Bay Town MP Opondo Kaluma said the developments Ruto spoke of arose from parliamentary initiatives and budgetary allocation.

Fighting devolution

He said the national government was fighting devolution while seeking to take credit from successes of county governments.

His Muhoroni counterpart Onyango K'oyoo said not much has been achieved on the much touted 20,000 kilometres of roads the Jubilee Government promised.

Kisumu East MP Shakeel Shabbir argued that what Ruto presented cannot be backed by facts.

"All the flagship Jubilee projects have failed including laptop, Tatu City and Greenfield runway. DP should not boast yet there is 80 per cent failure," he said.

Civil society activist Cyprian Nyamwamu said Kenyans should demand accountability on rising debt. "We need accountability for debts which include Eurobond," said Nyamwamu.