National Assembly Majority Leader, Kimani Ichungwa claims that the country is debt-secure amidst public outcry over the skyrocketing cost of living.
According to Mr Ichungwa, who is also the Kikuyu Member of Parliament (MP), Kenya is debt secure due to the efforts put in by President William Ruto.
The lawmaker affiliated with the government, says that Dr Ruto has enabled Kenya to portray itself as a nation that respects its creditors.
In a video, Ichungwa is heard lauding President Ruto for steering the country in the right direction “compared to some other African nations which have since defaulted on external debts.”
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party legislator, however, did not reveal the countries he claimed are defaulters in the African continent.
“When all nations around us, especially in our region in Africa, are defaulting on their debts, through your leadership, Your Excellency (referring to President William Ruto), our country today is debt secure. Our country today is on an economic trajectory that is safe, and we shall not be defaulting on our debt,” Mr Ichungwa stated.
The MP further explained, “These are great and glorious things that the Lord has done for us. We give thanks to Him, praise Him, and let it be known to all nations of the world that the Lord God has done great and glorious things for our country.”
Ichungwa’s remarks come amid public outcry over the ever-rising cost of living.
A few months after President Ruto was sworn in, he reviewed some taxes and levies.
The move includes the passing of the Finance Act 2023, which proposed raising the fuel VAT from 8 percent to 16 percent and the introduction of the embattled housing levy.
The controversial bill, however, was opposed by the Azimio la Umoja coalition, the opposition.
Nevertheless, Dr Ruto defended the increase of VAT on fuel, among other levies, alleging that the move has enabled Kenya to come out of the debt ditch.
His deputy, Mr Rigathi Gachagua, has consistently claimed that the Kenya Kwanza Government inherited a dilapidated economy from the former head of state, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta.
