Will Ruto keep fresh ‘cost of Unga’ promise?
President William Ruto has shared a fresh promise with Kenyans in regard to the price of maize flour (Unga).
During a meet the people tour in Machakos county on April 14, 2023, the Head of State announced the price of the precious commodity will come down ‘in the coming days’.
President Ruto, however, stopped short of announcing the new prices or exact dates even as he stressed his government’s commitment to lowering the cost of living.
“You will soon start seeing a new price of Unga. This is because we have to balance the prices of maize flour so as to protect our farmers,” he explained.
“You know the maize we import is the work of other farmers but we mostly rely on our local farmers.”
The promise comes amid pressure from the opposition for the government to address what Azimio leader Raila Odinga says is the runaway cost of living. The pressure has led to a series of anti-government protests which left four dead, dozens, including policemen, injured, and property worth millions of shillings destroyed.
But this is not the first time the President is making a promise related to the price of Unga.
While on the campaign trail ahead of the August 2022 polls, President Ruto, then serving as Deputy President severally promised to lower the price of Unga to Sh70 per 2kg packet if elected.
And upon election as President on September 11, 2022, he assured Kenyans that his ‘first’ assignment after taking the oath of office will be to lower the cost of living. It was not to be.
Instead, the President explained he had meetings with officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), National Treasury, and Ministry of Agriculture on how to address the cost of living and settled on instead subsidizing the prices of farm inputs.
Later, on October 25, 2022, Ruto again told Kenyans to be patient with him and give him a grace period of one year to lower the cost of living.
Speaking during the groundbreaking of Soweto East Zone B Social Housing in Kibra, Nairobi county, Ruto said the government needs a year to lower unga prices.
“I know the cost of living is high. You know that the prices went up because of the mess created by the ‘handshake’ regime in the last four years. Nitanyorosha hiyo mambo kwa mwaka moja. We have already started the process of lowering unga prices by giving farmers 1.4 million bags of subsidized fertilizer,” said Ruto.
Currently, the price of 2kg of unga is retailing at Sh200.
Unga is one of the most sought-after commodities in Kenya as research shows a family has to consume ugali at least once every day.
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