United Democratic Alliance presidential flag bearer William Ruto has recently been saying President Uhuru Kenyatta and the ODM leader Raila Odinga should shoulder the blame for the increase in food prices in the country.
Presently, a 2kg packet of maize flour which is currently retailing at a record Ksh 200 was retailing at Ksh 75 in 2018 while a liter of cooking oil has more than doubled to almost Ksh 500.
According to the Kenya Kwanza Alliance brigade, President Uhuru has been directly taking from the ODM leader making it hard for Ruto to contribute to discussions that would stabilize the economy.
However, speaking at Karen during a media conference on Tuesday, June,28, Raila distanced himself from the high cost of living saying he has no official role in government.
The ODM leader explained that he only offers periodical pieces of advice on what the government might decide to use or not.
“Kenyans are not stupid. Kenyans know I am not in government. I don’t earn a salary; I don’t live in a government house. I don’t get any allowance from the government. But I advise. But the advice is just advice; the receiver can use it or not,” Raila said.
The former prime minister hit out at DP Ruto accusing them of being fond of blaming others instead of working to solve problems.
“It is unfair to do a blanket condemnation. Someone who is earning a salary has more than 250 security officers from the government and is using government vehicles for the campaign is coming out to say ask Kitendawili who is in government. He claims he was ejected from the government. Lakini kama ulitolewa, basi jiuzulu,” he added.
At the same time, the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition flag bearer explained that external forces were hugely contributing to the rising cost of living.
“When the cost of crude oil goes up, everything else goes up in a country… Because everything else depends on oil in terms of manufacturing,” he added.
The Russia-Ukraine war has pushed up the price of fuel globally. It has also disrupted traditional international transport routes thus increasing the cost of transporting raw materials and/or finished goods across the globe, a cost that is passed on to the final consumer through higher prices.
It is also worth noting that Russia is the World’s biggest exporter of fertilizer. Its war with Ukraine has not only disrupted the shipping of the commodity at a crucial time when farmers are planting, but it has also affected the supply of natural gas, a key ingredient in the manufacture of fertilizer.
