Kabando wa Kabando: Stop blaming Uhuru for the state of economy
Former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando has criticized President William Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza affiliated politicians for constantly blaming former President Uhuru Kenyatta for their misfortunes.
In a tweet on X, Kabando argued it was a year since Mr Kenyatta handed over power.
Hence, President Ruto’s focus should be on improving the country’s economy not shifting blame.
He said, “One year later, time for UDA guys to shift their eyes from the rear mirror to the front focus. Uhuru can’t be a daily excuse as Ruto’s disastrous tax craze gets worse. Coffee, macadamia, and avocado farmers are suffering the lowest, worst prices ever as UDA laments, and rants. The buck stops at Ruto’s desk.”
In June 2023, Nation reported that prices for coffee, macadamia, rice, tea, and avocado experienced a sharp decline due to the intrusion of influential cartels in the agricultural sector. This posed a significant threat to the financial stability of countless farmers.
These farmers expressed their continuous struggles arising from the escalated production costs, challenges in accessing markets, and the dominance of these powerful cartels. The cartels were purchasing these agricultural products at extremely low prices only to sell them at a much higher rate on the international market.
For instance, the price of coffee, which was trading at around Sh100 per kilogram the previous year, had plunged to just Sh42. Similarly, the cost of macadamia, which was priced at Sh200 per kilo in 2019, had tumbled to a mere Sh20. This pricing trend was consistent across the board, affecting tea, rice, sugarcane, and avocado farmers with significantly reduced prices.
In addition, taxes still stifle Kenyans with President Ruto’s administration imposing increases and new tax reforms. For instance, the Finance Committee unanimously agreed in June to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products from 8 percent to 16 percent. Even though the controversial housing levy was reduced from 3% to 1.5%, the committee further proposed a reduction of the withholding tax for digital content creators from 15 percent.
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