The Kenya Kwanza Alliance team has been at the forefront in blaming President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration for the high cost of living, especially after the price of maize flour hit KSh 200 per 2kg packet.
On Monday, July 18, the Ministry of Agriculture inked a deal with millers to bring down the cost of flour from KSh 210 to KSh 100 per two-kilogram packet.
But addressing a roadside rally in Nairobi, Deputy President William Ruto faulted his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, for playing politics with maize flour.
Ruto said President Uhuru Kenyatta had only intervened to lower food prices as a campaign tool ahead of the August 9, General Election.
However, in a rejoinder on Wednesday, July 20, the Jubilee party leader blasted his estranged deputy for taking advantage of the high cost of living to solicit votes from Kenyans.
President Uhuru, who was addressing the nation from State House on the high cost of living, appealed to his deputy and his allies not to mock the lifestyle of the suffering voters but to help the country by offering solutions to the plight of Kenyans.
“My appeal to the political class is to exercise civic responsibility. To politicize the pain of the vulnerable without offering solutions is to mock the lifestyle of the same voters the politicians are appealing to,” Uhuru said.
The Head of State went ahead to highlight his administration’s intervention to caution Kenyans about the high cost of living including fuel subsidies.
In his five-point stimulus package focusing on food subsidies, the outgoing head of state suspended the import declaration fee (IDF) and the Railway Development Levy on all imported maize.
President Uhuru clarified that the move is meant to lower the cost of living for vulnerable households, even as a sustainable solution is being sorted.
“These subsidies are meant to lessen the cost of living for vulnerable households as we look for solutions to the recurrent rising price of items every election,” he said.
To bring down the cost of fuel, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a fuel subsidy program amounting to KSh 11 billion.
This he said will reduce the pump price of diesel to KSh 140 up from the current KSh 193, petrol will come down from KSh 209 to KSh 159 while kerosene will now retail at KSh 127 up from KSh 181.
Covid-19 economic stimulus package included lowering PAYE income tax on working Kenyans.
