Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has reiterated his assertions that the Kenya Kwanza Government inherited a dilapidated economy.
In September 2022, during the swearing-in of Dr William Ruto and his running mate, Rigathi Gachagua, as the President and the Deputy President, respectively, the second in command claimed they inherited a collapsed economy from the Jubilee administration led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, now retired.
However, DP Gachagua now says President Ruto struggled to restore the economy.
“I want to assure Kenyans on behalf of the President that the economy was corrected and is now reviving,” Mr Gachagua said on Thursday, February 1, 2024.
“When the President took office, we found Kenya facing many problems. We found things had deteriorated, and when I said it in Kasarani, some people said I am naughty,” reminisced the DP.
He hilariously claimed the situation was so bad that even rats had escaped stores.
“I said we found the stores empty, and even the rats had disappeared. Kenya was bankrupt, and it was only waiting for the auctioning bell to be rung,” he stated.
According to Mr Gachagua, the measures put in place by President Ruto are now yielding fruits.
He said the economy is now promising, and the country is headed in the right direction.
“The President struggled; he has built Kenya, and we are now seeing signs of a reviving economy, which is why we have embarked on development tours in various parts of the country,” he explained.
He added, “For the last one year, the head of state has grappled with the menace of debts since we found a lineup of them. We found debts from China, India, Germany, Japan, the World Bank, IMF, among others. It was a very difficult task.”
For the past month, Dr Ruto has toured various parts of the country, launching development projects.
When he assumed power, President Ruto reviewed taxes and levies on basic commodities, including VAT on fuel, from 8 percent to 16 percent.
The move has triggered a rise in the cost of living, with some companies and organisations reportedly closing doors because of hard economic times.
