President William Ruto has defended his move to increase tax rates in the nation noting that it has helped stabilise the economy which he says was at a critical state.
Speaking during an interview with DW News on Tuesday, President Ruto boasted of levelling an economy that “was on a slide into debt” and that has been achieved by raising the tax rates.
“There are no increases of any taxes we have proposed that are punitive. We are in charge of the economy. Everybody appreciates that we have stabilized the economy,” he said.
“We couldn’t access the international financial markets when I took over, today we can access any international market because they have seen the kind of stability we have brought,” he stated.
Acknowledging that the high-soaring prices of commodities need to be scaled down, President Ruto reiterated his commitment to providing affordable basic goods in the forthcoming days.
He stated that Kenya has already received a batch of food products, which he says is a step towards achieving his goal.
“Yes we have a crisis of commodity high prices, whether it is fertilizer, fuel and grain,” he said.
He added: “We have registered 5 million farmers, we are providing fertilizers and seeds for them to grow, we are importing food from across the globe and some of the imports arrived last week to begin to tamer the price of commodities.”
“We are investing long term on irrigation and that is part of the conversation I will be having with German officials on how we can work together to change our agriculture from being rainfed to being under irrigation.”
Chiming into the anti-government demonstrations led by Azimio la Umoja coalition, President Ruto claimed that the motive fuelling the protests is the August 2022 General Election results and not the purported high cost of living.
“The riots in Nairobi are not so much about the cost of living it is about some election results which is a settled matter,” he said.
“Of course because the cost of living is a pregnant issue is an emotive issue our competitors are trying to take advantage of it but I think the people of Kenya are a lot wiser.”
President Ruto is on a four-day visit to the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Belgium which started on Sunday, March 26.
