Nairobi — Opposition leaders have criticized President William Ruto's Madaraka Day speech, saying it did not offer any solutions to the country's high cost of living.
While pointing out that it didn't lay out a plan for economic recovery, the Parliamentarians stated that the President was solely interested in implementing his new taxing policies through the Finance Bill 2023 and making what they refer to as "Empty Promises" without laying out a plan on how to do so.
Through his twitter account, National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi, criticized the president for not using the chance to inform Kenyans of his intention to tax them.
"I have watched Mr William Ruto's Madaraka Day 2023 speech with a mix of disappointment and sadness. His rambling one-hour speech did not explain why he's using the Finance Bill 2023 to milk starving Kenyans to death," he said.
Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu termed the speech as too long loaded with a lot of promises with no clear way of achieving them.
"Every time the President gets a platform, he keeps on making promises which worries some of us in the financial sector because if we do not have money to even pay salaries how will he fulfill the promises he is making," he said.
However, he praised the president for announcing the Hustler Fund's second phase, saying it will assist Kenyans in expanding their small enterprises.
The Pokot South MP David Pkosing criticized the President's speech for failing to address methods to revive the economy, which Kenyans want to hear, and instead focusing on raising taxes on an already taxed-out populace.
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"Kenya Kwanza must listen to Kenyans. They should stop punishing Kenyans who are already punished by the harsh economy. If they continue pushing on the new taxes, then they will oon face the wrath of Kenyans," he said.
He continued by saying that the government shouldn't have concentrated on enacting new taxes this year, but rather simply on the recovery of the economy.
Nyando MP Jared Okello also criticized the speech for having retrograde policies and being hollow.
Okello asserted that by declaring that the elections in August were free and fair, the President had already decided the conclusion of the cross-partisan negotiations.
"His remarks on the polls servers is essentially pouring cold water on the bipartisan talks. He knows that there are major issues on the servers especially on the presidential results," he said.
He argued that despite saying he feels the strain of Kenya's high cost of living, the president is still determined to push through the Finance Bill 2023, which increases taxes on Kenyans.
