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Rigathi Gachagua flies aboard military plane to Botswana amid financial crisis


Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua used a military plane to fly to Botswana for an official visit at a time he has admitted the country is facing a financial crisis.

The DP recently shared photos of himself embarking of a military plane in the Southern Africa country on his social media pages. He also explained his diary of events in the country and stressed the importance of deepening the ties between Kenya and Botswana.

“Key among issues )to be discussed) was inter-state agreements to increase trade volumes under the frameworks of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AFCFTA), Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement, among others, With more than 3,000 Kenyans in Botswana, we explored ways of making it easy for our professionals who live and work in the Southern Africa country. We will continue improving our collaboration under the Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation framework signed between the two nations in 2001,” he said.

On his four day trip, the outspoken Gachagua is expected to have an engagement with Kenyans living in Botswana ahead of the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa and a host of bilateral engagements.

The DP and his better half pastor Dorcas also hosted members of the popular Kenyan band Sauti Sol who who performed at the Forbes Under 30 Africa Summit as he vouched to work with the music band to inspire younger generations.

Using a personal plane on an international trip is a far more expensive venture as compared to a commercial flight.

It entails paying for the airspace, landing rights, space at the airport upon arrival and fueling the chopper

Gachagua is said to have used the flight together with his staff and a few aides including security detail Including Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu.

Meanwhile, the national carrier Kenya Airways, a far cheaper option, operates upto four return flights to the country each week.

The decision to use a military plane comes at a time President William Ruto and DP Gachagua have public confessed on a number of occasions that the country is in bad shape on the financial front while blaming former president Uhuru Kenyatta for mismanging the economy.

Signs that the country’s financial health was not okay came to the fore when salaries for civil servants for the month of March 2023 were delayed, while health workers on a number of counties have downed their tools over delays in payments.

Counties are also yet to receive their allocation from the national government for the past three months with governors recently threatening to shut down services.

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