President William Ruto has no intention of caving in to Raila Odinga’s demands for tax reductions in response to rising prices for essential items.
After defending his decision to raise tax rates on specific items, he said that doing so had helped stabilize the economy, which was in a precarious position.
In an interview with DW TV on Tuesday, President Ruto bragged that he had raised tax rates in order to level an economy that “was on a fall into debt.”
“We have not suggested any tax increases that are harsh. Economic policy is under our control. Everyone is grateful that we have brought about economic stability, he remarked.
Ruto claims that the stable economy has made it possible for the country to access global markets, creating additional opportunities for investment.
“We couldn’t access the international financial markets before I took over, but now that they have witnessed the level of stability we have delivered, we can access any foreign market,” he said.
Ruto reaffirmed his commitment to offering inexpensive, essential goods in the coming days, acknowledging that the skyrocketing prices of staples need to be reduced.
He claimed that Kenya had already received a shipment of food items, which he described as progress toward his objective.
Certainly, he added, there was an issue with rising commodity costs, including those for fuel, food, and fertilizer.
“We are importing food from over the world, some of the imports arrived last week to start to tame the price of commodities, we have registered 5 million farmers, we are supplying fertilizers and seeds for them to cultivate.”
We are making long-term investments in irrigation, and that will be a topic of discussion when I meet with German authorities to see how we can collaborate to transition our agricultural from being rainfed to being irrigated.
This occurs as the opposition, led by Raila Odinga, continues to hold protests across the nation to press Ruto to comply with a number of requests, including lowering taxes and the cost of living.
