President William Ruto has announced significant reforms in his administration.
In a televised interview with local media in Nairobi, President Ruto revealed that the office of the First Lady will not receive funding in the new fiscal year, which begins today.
“There are some offices, including that of the First Lady and the Second Lady, that will not receive funds this year due to our current situation,” President Ruto said.
“I think the cabinet could have done better; I need to do a lot of soul-searching over this.”
The decision comes amid widespread criticism over the Finance Bill 2024, which proposed tax increases to fund government operations, sparking deadly protests across the country.
The bill had allocated an increase of 17.3% to the budget for First Lady Rachel Ruto’s office, amounting to Kenyan Shilling 696 million.
However, this will now be frozen. Conversely, funding for the Second Lady Dorcas Gachagua’s office was reduced from Kenyan Shilling 717 million to Kenyan Shilling 557 million.
Ruto also hinted at possible changes to his economic advisors, saying “Watch this space.”
His key advisors include former Trade Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed and Economist David Ndii.
Furthermore, President Ruto announced that he will be implementing austerity measures in his own office, including reducing operational expenditure by eliminating allocations for confidential votes, reducing travel budgets, hospitality expenses, and the purchase of vehicles, renovations, and other expenditures.
“I direct that operational expenditure in the Presidency be reduced to eliminate allocations for the confidential vote, reduce travel budgets, hospitality, and the purchase of vehicles, renovations, and other expenditures,” President Ruto said.
However, the impact of these reforms remains to be seen, and many are watching closely to see how they will affect the government’s ability to deliver on its promises.
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SOURCE : NEWSREPORTZIM.COM
