Ruto: Ignore the naysayers, Kenya is doing well

He said not only Kenya is undergoing the “temporary economic crisis”. “It is true that the Kenyan shilling has depreciated. But this is just by 21 per cent compared to the Ugandan and Tanzanian shilling which depreciated by 45 and 36 per cent respectively.

Compared to other countries, we are better off,” the DP said yesterday in Nairobi during an entrepreneurship talk organised by UAP-Old Mutual. Ruto dismissed claims by the Opposition that the country is doing bad economically, saying while the Jubilee government is busy doing everything possible to salvage the economy, their empty talk does not help matters. Good tidings “The government is carrying out infrastructure projects to ensure a good economic environment especially for young entrepreneurs. Manufacturers can now access electricity less 20 per cent the usual prices,” he said.

During a recent press conference, the Opposition, Coalition of Reforms and Democracy (CORD) claimed Kenya’s economy is on autopilot following the rampant corruption cases and heavy borrowing.

Led by Siaya Senator James Orengo, the Opposition leaders cited the latest Sh61 billion syndicated loan and ethnic exclusion through biased public appointments as some of the major concerns forcing them to push for a referendum. Earlier, it was revealed that the government is planning to increase taxes on basic commodities to raise Sh64 billion.

In a brief to the country’s major lender, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on August 31 but only made public earlier in the week, the National Treasury stated that it had taken “corrective” measures to the economy which would see the country raise Sh63.34 billion or one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which currently stands at $55 billion. Mr Ruto, however, assured Kenyans that by end of the year, the economy will be back on track.

“By Thursday Treasury bills had gone down 13 per cent which will have a positive effect on the high interest rate that stood at 26 per cent. This is an indication that we are working tirelessly,” he said.

STANDARD MEDIA