Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga has demanded that President William Ruto apologizes to Kenyans over the Finance Bill 2023.
Addressing the media on Thursday, June 9, at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation in Nairobi, Raila asked President Ruto to withdraw the bill and seek forgiveness from Kenyans.
“We ask Ruto to humble himself, withdraw this bill, offer an apology, and seek forgiveness from Kenyans for the anxiety caused and begin afresh,” said Raila.
The former Prime Minister also asked President Ruto to stop duplicating county roles and responsibilities that are proposed in the Financial Bill 2023.
“In the proposed bill, the budget for health is going for 35 billion shillings yet health is a devolved function,” he stated.
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Raila urged President Ruto to stop using the previous budget as a baseline and adopt a zero-based budget that starts at zero ground.
The ODM leader asked the Head of State not to grow the size of the Kenyan budget but live within his means.
He went on to urge President Ruto to seal loopholes that lead to loss of revenue instead of imposing new taxes.
Raila also asked the President to stop non-essential government expenditures, reduce the size of government, and cut non-essential domestic and international travel.
The opposition leader further demanded the freezing of ministerial out-of-station allowances, ministerial house allowances, and domestic allowances for Cabinet and Principal Secretaries.