Ruto Pokes Fun At Uhuru, Raila In Live Parliament Address

President William Ruto, in his address during the official opening of the 13th Parliament, mocked former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga.

During the joint Parliament sitting on Thursday, September 29, Ruto threw jabs at both individuals, saying that he floored them in the August 9 elections when they used nearly every weapon in their arsenal to try to beat him.

The Head of State used his favoured bottom-up economic model to give an example of how he rose from an outsider in the previous government to the most powerful man in Kenya.

"In summary, and this, by the way, only happens in Kenya. The sitting Deputy President became the candidate of the opposition and the leader of the opposition became the candidate of government.

"As things would be, the opposition candidate won the election and became president and the president became the leader of the opposition party. That is the beauty of our democracy," he said, much to the laughter by Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators in attendance.

He nonetheless promised to work with everyone in his tenure, even those who did not support him.

"We are committed to serving all Kenyans in all wards of each constituency and all counties in every region throughout Kenya. After all, we all serve the same boss, the people and their sovereign interests are our operating principle and purpose," he noted.

Murmurs had emanated from the opposition, after some of its members publicly questioned the qualifications of his nominees to the Cabinet, and whether they complied with Chapter 6 of the Constitution, Ruto maintained that he will run an upright government and is open to be held accountable.

" I will run an administration that is open and transparent and my administration will rely on oversight from this house to make sure that the public gets value for every cent invested in every policy, project, and program," Ruto assured the Parliament.

Notably, the President received accolades for delivering the shortest speech by a Head of State while opening a Parliament.

Ruto Directs Treasury To Reduce Budget By Ksh300 Billion

During the same speech, President Ruto instructed the Treasury to cut down Uhuru's last budget by Ksh300 billion, specifically reducing expenditure on unnecessary items that were budgeted for.

"Over the next three years, we must go back to the situation where the government contributes to the national saving scheme.

"To this end, I have instructed the Treasury to work with ministries to find at least Ksh300 billion in this year's budget because the market cannot sustain the kind of borrowing we are doing as a government," he said.

Specifically, Uhuru's last budget read by outgoing Treasury CS Ukur Yatani before the 2022 elections was projected at Ksh3.3 trillion.

He added that his government will allocate resources every year to the hustler fund from which Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can access affordable credit to start and expand their businesses.

"We have been deliberate in our efforts to restore sanity and introduce greater responsibility in the management of public resources. One significant intervention is the resolve to abandon consumption subsidies in favour of supporting and investing in production," he addressed.

He added that the country will need Ksh500 billion to raise the access to water from the current 60 per cent to 80 per cent.

“Government can provide this gradually, but the private sector can mobilize it all at once. we will thus adopt a public-private partnership framework by entering into water purchase agreements with investors,” he said.

Outgoing Treasury CS, Ukur Yatani. /FILE

The PPE unit at treasury has been directed to create the framework to enable cooperation between the government and the private sector like that used in the energy sector.

After his speech, the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula, and his Senate Counterpart adjourned their respective houses. Both houses will resume sittings on Tuesday, October 4 at 2:30 p.m.