Nairobi — Civil Society Organizations, under the Okoa Uchumi Campaign coalition, have called on political leaders to seize the current opportunity presented by the truce between President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga, to work together in addressing the economic challenges bedeviling most Kenyans.
While lauding the truce and suspension of anti-government demonstrations, the rights groups urged Kenyans to remain vigilant in ensuring that their issues are sufficiently addressed.
The groups noted that this is a crucial step towards restoring economic stability in the country, particularly at a time when most Kenyans are struggling to make ends meet due to the global financial crisis, ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the current debt crisis.
The CSOs stressed that Kenyans are keen on seeing the truce go beyond political expediency, which has characterized Kenyan politics, to addressing pressing challenges.
"We therefore expect that the bipartisan approach agreed upon by these two leaders, will speak to these present realities," the CSOs including Kenya Human Rights Commission, MUHURI, Transparency International Kenya, Haki Yetu Organization, Inform Action and Free Kenya said.
They highlighted the need for greater accountability in public debt management as a critical issue.
To avoid economic regression into unsustainable debt levels, the rights groups pointed out that the government must prioritize transparency and accountability in managing the country's public debt.
Currently, Kenya is grappling with a 4.67 trillion external debt, much of which is held in foreign currencies, affecting our foreign exchange reserves.
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They added that prioritizing public debt accountability will ensure that the country has necessary robust countermeasures against the depreciating Kenyan Shilling against the US dollar to plug our fiscal challenges occasioned by the changing global and local landscape.
"We equally expect that the truce will effectively address the cost of living, which affects majority of Kenyan households, particularly as it coincided with the new tariffs announced by KPLC (Kenya Power & Lighting Company) which saw a rise in the cost of tokens by up to 19 percent," they added.
They questioned why the cost of electricity was still high despite the promise by President Ruto earlier in the year to reduce it to accommodate the harsh socio-economic reality facing most Kenyans.
The CSOs expressed concern over the burden occasioned by the recent announcement of an increase in university fees for new government-sponsored students joining in September this year, from Ksh16,000 to Sh 52,000 per semester.
They cautioned that this trend could result in education becoming a privilege that only a few Kenyans can afford, thereby undermining the country's vision of inclusive and sustainable development
