Wednesday, March 29, 2023 – Hustlers are up in arms against President William Ruto’s government after he increased the budget for his economic team as they await on him to address the cost of living.
Ruto gave his economic advisers a whopping Sh204 million to buy cars, and furniture and pay rent, compared to the Sh7.9 million that former President Uhuru Kenyatta gave his economic team.
The team, under the chairmanship of economist David Ndii, is one of the cogs in Ruto’s administration which is keen to help the economy to recover from the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, drought, and the war in Ukraine.
Other members include former Treasury PS Kamau Thuge, Dr. Augustine Cheruiyot, Mohammed Hassan, and Dr Nancy Laibuni.
Of the Sh204, million, Sh92 million will be used for the purchase of new cars for the new officials that fall under the office of the President.
The previous team at the National Treasury led by Ukur Yatani had not allocated any funds for the purchase of vehicles.
The budget for vehicle maintenance for this department based at State House also rose by Sh10 million from a paltry Sh328,700 that had initially been set aside.
These economic advisors have also been awarded Sh20 million for the purchase of furniture, as they settle down having been given a target of generating two policy advisory reports for the head of state in the current financial year ending June 2023.
The hospitality budget rose nearly four times to Sh18 million from Sh4.9 million.
There is Sh18.6 million for the purchase of specialized plant, equipment, and machinery, which had not initially been catered for.
For rentals, the team was given a fresh Sh9 million, an indicator that the team will be setting up new offices.
For domestic travel, these economic advisors were given Sh15 million, up from Sh1.1 million.
The Kenyan DAILY POST