During the August 9, presidential campaigns, the Kenya Kwanza Coalition led by the then-presidential candidate William Ruto promised to lower the cost of living.
However, the cost of basic food commodities continues to skyrocket, more than one month since William Ruto took over the reins of power from his predecessor retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
For instance, Kenyans are buying a 1kg packet of maize flour at KSh 100 whereas a 2KG packet retails at between KSh 190 and KSh 200.
The Head of State has however ruled out subsidizing maize flour, much to the disappointment of the hustlers.
Speaking on Wednesday, October 5, after flagging off the first consignment of tea destined for Accra, Ghana, the First in Command said that the Kenya Kwanza’s first intervention will be to reduce the cost of production.
“Our very first intervention is to try and reduce the cost of production so that we can enhance our productivity,
“Progressively we are going to work with our farmers so that we can better support them in production. I have said we are going to make a conscious decision to support our production and not subsidize our consumption,” the president said.
Ruto who spoke at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) said that fertilizer prices would go down from the current KSh 3,500 to retail at between KSh 2,500 and KSh 3,000.
“I know the government has made available about KSh 3.5 million so that our farmers can have access to fertilizer at a fairly reduced price of KSh 3,500
“We are still working with the producers of fertilizer we want to see whether we can take this fertilizer down to between KSh 2,500 and KSh3,000,” William Ruto said.