Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has refuted accusations that when President William Ruto took office, he found empty coffers at the National Treasury.
Raila, speaking in Nairobi on Thursday, called it an official falsehood that Kenya Kwanza inherited a bankrupt country.
He claimed that Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, lied to Kenyans in order to steal taxpayers’ money.
“The truth is, the cash crunch has been caused by economic mismanagement, wasteful spending, corruption, and the hiring of incompetent personnel,” Raila stated.
Raila, who is also the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), claims that the worsening economic crisis has been fabricated in the State House over the last eight months.
He claimed that the government’s own records show that, contrary to what Ruto pledged and is stating, borrowing has increased.
Kenya’s overall debt, according to Raila, was Sh8.701 trillion when Ruto gained leadership.
Sh4.33 trillion was external debt, whereas Sh4.366 trillion was domestic debt.
“By March 2023, six months after Ruto took office, Kenya’s debt had risen from Sh8.701 trillion to Sh9.390 trillion,” Raila stated.
He claimed that the debt increased by Sh689 billion in six months under the Ruto administration.
He pointed out that the external debt increased from Sh4.33 trillion in September 2022 to Sh4.851 trillion in March 2023.
“Additionally, domestic debt rose from Sh4.366 trillion in September 2022 to Sh4.539 trillion in March 2023.”
“We can go all the way back to 2021.” “Our debt increased by Sh405 billion between September 2021 and March 2022, from Sh7.96 trillion to Sh8.401 trillion,” he said.
