Public anger gives Ruto opportunity to rid himself of political baggage

President William Ruto during the Presidential Roundtable at State House, Nairobi on June 30, 2024. [PCS, Standard]

The Finance Bill 2024 that has caused Kenyans conniptions stands shelved.

The pointy heads from pertinent ministries now say last year’s budget will be used to guide government spending. There are several factors that inform the budget-making process. This column looks at four of these apropos of revenue collection, budget deficit and public spending in Kenya.

The first of these is the Vision 2030. This is Kenya’s economic blue-print. It is meant to be implemented in five-year phases. Its endgame is industrialisation of the country by the year 2030. Leaders align their budgets to this blue-print with development projects that not only ensure returns on investment but also trickle-down of resources.

The second consideration is Kenya’s lenders. Top of the list are Bretton Woods institutions. Ordinarily, these are lenders of last recourse that a country resorts to when it has alternatives. Kenya is heavily indebted. The fingerprints of the IMF have been all over the budget because of agreements with the lender aimed at addressing the country’s fiscal challenges.

The third is political allies and considerations. The President is first and foremost a politician. He has a phalanx of supporters who ensured his election victory in 2022. It is inevitable that the budget must include sinecures for many of these and opportunities for them to recoup their spending in the last national elections.

Fourth is the aspiration of citizens. These are encapsulated in the election pledges that form the manifesto of the ruling party. The Kenya Kwanza administration made lofty promises in the run-up to the national elections of 2022. Whereas some have been fulfilled, there are still lots of others that are yet to be accomplished. And therein lies the rub!

There has been growing resentment against the government because of the impression that it isn’t delivering on its election pledges fast enough. Worse still is the feeling that political cronies of the President have benefited at the expense of the aspirations of citizens.

Perhaps it is now time to bump citizens further up the totem pole of budget-making considerations. Whereas the Vision 2030 blueprint and lenders must of necessity have a greater say, the needs of citizens should trump other political considerations.

The President has promised to rein in the excesses of his allies who flaunt their wealth even as Kenyans are urged to tighten their belts in austerity measures. The remonstrations of citizens present him a golden opportunity to rid himself of all political baggage without any recriminations. This may entail tough decisions with heads on the chopping block in the coming days.

There is a tremendous trust deficit that obtains because of perceptions of corruption within the ranks of the President’s Cabinet. Reconstitution now becomes an urgent matter of when and not if. Generation Z have drawn first blood and, having had a taste of their phenomenal power, can no longer be satiated by cosmetic reforms.

What they, and the rest of the country want, is enhanced accountability at every level of government. And they have the online tools to enforce such accountability. Interestingly, unlike other generations before them, they are not just concerned with ethics alone but also the moral rectitude of those in leadership.

-Mr Khafafa is a public policy analyst