NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 11-Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused President William Ruto’s administration of presiding over a growing cost-of-living crisis, alleging that the government “steals” about Sh3 billion from Kenyans every day.
Gachagua, who was delivering his four-year performance audit of the Ruto administration, claimed the figure translates to Sh125 million every hour and Sh2.08 million every minute.
“This regime, on a borrowing spree, borrows an average of Sh3.5 billion per day and steals Sh3 billion per day. Why borrow to steal?” Gachagua said.
He accused the government of increasing the tax burden on households while simultaneously borrowing heavily to finance its programmes.
According to Gachagua, Kenya’s public debt has risen from Sh8.66 trillion in August 2022 to Sh13.02 trillion, with every Kenyan carrying a debt burden of about Sh221,898.
He claimed the Ruto administration is borrowing an average of Sh1.4 trillion annually, compared with about Sh700 billion under the Jubilee administration and Sh200 billion under the Grand Coalition Government.
Gachagua said the rising debt had not translated into sufficient development and questioned why the government was borrowing to finance recurrent expenditure.
Fuel prices
The former Deputy President linked the government’s economic policies to the rising cost of living, pointing to higher petroleum prices as a major source of pressure on households.
He noted that Super Petrol retailed at Sh159.12 per litre on August 8, 2022, compared with Sh214.03 currently, while diesel had risen from Sh140 to Sh222.86 per litre.
Gachagua said the increases represented rises of 34.05 per cent for petrol and 59.18 per cent for diesel, contributing to higher transport and food costs.
He also renewed his criticism of the Government-to-Government fuel importation framework, which he alleged had increased the landed cost of petroleum products.
Gachagua referred to the arrangement as “Government-to-Gulf/Ruto,” arguing that it had failed to deliver the lower fuel prices promised to Kenyans.
Statutory deductions
Gachagua further argued that increased statutory deductions and taxes had reduced workers’ disposable incomes.
He cited the example of a teacher in Wajir earning a gross salary of Sh50,000, claiming the worker took home approximately Sh42,000 in 2022 but now receives about Sh38,000 while facing higher food, fuel and transport costs.
“The Kenya Kwanza covenant to put money in people’s pockets is nothing but a pipe dream,” Gachagua said.
“If anything, Mr William Ruto has achieved the complete opposite and has taken money out of Kenyans’ pockets, leaving them with a reduced net disposable income.”
He called for the suspension of the Affordable Housing Levy, a review of PAYE tax bands and changes to the petroleum pricing and taxation framework.
Gachagua also challenged the government to cut recurrent expenditure, arguing that State House does not require an annual Sh18 billion budget.
He said the money could instead be used to cushion Kenyans from rising fuel and food prices or provide water infrastructure for farmers and livestock keepers in arid and semi-arid areas.
Counties cash-flow delays
The former Deputy President also accused the National Treasury of delaying equitable-share transfers to counties, saying the delays had disrupted county operations, delayed salaries and contributed to a buildup of pending bills.
He put county pending bills at more than Sh156 billion.
Gachagua said strengthening devolution and ensuring timely disbursement of funds had been part of the Kenya Kwanza campaign commitment, arguing that the government had failed to honour that promise.
Gachagua also turned his criticism to the Hustler Fund, one of Ruto’s flagship programmes aimed at providing affordable credit to low-income Kenyans and small businesses.
He questioned the programme’s impact despite claims that Sh87 billion had been disbursed to 28 million people.
“What a paradox! What a lie!” he said.
Gachagua argued that the small amounts received by individual borrowers were insufficient to establish or expand sustainable businesses, while high default rates had undermined the programme.
“The truth of the matter is, the high rate of loan defaults and low loan disbursements, in many instances Sh500, are insufficient to establish or grow a sustainable business venture,” he said.
“This is simply a lost cause.”
Gachagua’s economic assessment forms part of his broader political case against the Ruto administration ahead of the 2027 General Election, with the former Deputy President arguing that Kenyans should judge the government on its record rather than its promises.
