- Reduces Special Advisers by 50%, Scraps Vehicle Purchases
By Abiola Olawale
Kenyan President, Mr William Ruto has announced a significant reorganization of his government , with a proposal to reduce the administration’s expenditures.
The Kenyan President revealed in a televised address on Friday that he will send a bill detailing a new fiscal strategy to the parliament. The proposal includes spending cuts totalling 177 billion shillings ($1.39 billion) for the fiscal year that began this month.
Ruto outlined that the government’s new fiscal strategy will include eliminating budgetary provisions for the offices of the First and Second Ladies and dissolving 47 state agencies.
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after Ruto scrapped the finance bill containing the tax increases in response to mass demonstrations.
Following the scrapping of the Finance Bill which had proposed the increment of taxes to address Kenya’s growing budget deficit, Ruto’s administration is now set to explore alternatives by cost-cutting measures.
He said: “The budgetary provisions for confidential budgets in various executive offices, including my office, shall be removed, and the budget for renovations across the government reduced by 50 per cent.”
Ruto also declared the dissolution of 47 state corporations with overlapping functions to eliminate their operational and maintenance costs. “Their functions will be integrated into the respective line ministries,” he said, noting that employees from these corporations would be reassigned to other government departments.
Further measures include an immediate halt to the hiring of chief administrative secretaries and a 50 per cent reduction in the number of government advisers. Civil servants aged 60 and above will be required to retire without extensions, and the purchase of new government vehicles will be suspended for a year, excluding security agencies.
Additionally, Ruto mandated the attorney-general to draft legislation to formalize these changes and develop a transparent system for public and charitable contributions.
“I believe these changes will set out our country on a trajectory towards economic transformation,” Ruto added.
The New Diplomat also reports that this comes after the National Assembly of Kenya had raised a motion tasking Ruto to address several pressing challenges in the country.
Senator Richard Onyonka, the lawmaker representing the Kitutu Chache Constituency of Kissi County in the National Assembly of Kenya, had called on Ruto to consider the presidential memorandum as outlined in Article 115(2)(a).
The lawmaker in his motion also called for all government ministries, departments, agencies, and constitutional commissions, including Parliament, to implement austerity measures in their operations.
