Garissa Town Member of Parliament Aden Duale has absolved President Uhuru Kenyatta of blame regarding Kenya’s high debt burden.
Speaking at Parliament on Thursday, Duale noted that Treasury and the National Assembly should shoulder the blame. Duale noted that Parliament has oversight powers and should not have approved previous budgets that sunk Kenya into the high debt burden.
“…I remember saying this at the floor of the National Assembly, looking at it in terms of expenditure, revenue and debt perspective - the honors lies with Parliament.
"I want to tell Kenyans. The people who are failing them are MPs. Don't blame the President. Don't blame Treasury. Blame MPs, including me," Duale said.
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Commenting on the 2021/2022 budget delivered by Treasury CS Ukur Yattani on Thursday, Duale said passing the budget as it is will worsen the situation for Kenyans in terms of the debt ceiling.
He urged the government to consider borrowing from other countries other than China, arguing that loans from the Asian nations were expensive and their terms are very harsh.
"Let us forget about these high expensive loans from the Chinese. China is a threat to the Kenyan economy as it is to other African economies. Let us borrow from bilateral and multilateral lenders where the grace period is long and interest rate less.
"Let us control the economic fall-out putting into consideration the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.
Duale’s decision to defend President Uhuru Kenyatta caught many by surprise since he is a staunch supporter of Deputy President William Ruto, who is not in good terms with his boss; the Head of State.
