June 25th, marked a long day of protests and bloodshed in another fight for Kenyan democracy to shoot down the Finance Bill 2024. President William Ruto today, in a State of The Nation Address, spoke with a different set of tone after his regime played deaf since it took power. The President made a U-turn on the Finance Bill after a hard stance that saw at least 8 people lose their lives in the hands of the police force.
He took a podium on Wednesday 26 June, 2024 in Nairobi to take control of the situation after the protests against the bill got out of hand in a way that has never been seen before.
President William Ruto still maintained that the “legitimate” protests had been hijacked by a group of organized criminals and he would use all means at his disposal to prevent a repeat of the violence – “at whatever cost”.
“I hereby put on notice the planners, financiers, orchestrators and abettors of violence and anarchy, that these security infrastructures established to protect our republic and its sovereignty, will be deployed to secure the country and restore normalcy,” Ruto said.
He directed immediate expenditure cuts on civil service to reduce the wage burden. “I direct immediate further measures to reduce expenditure, to start with the Executive Office of the President and extending to the entire executive arm of government.”
He directed operational expenditure for the Presidency be reduced to remove allocations for confidential votes, reduce travel budget, hospitality and purchase of motor vehicles, renovations, and other expenditures.
President Ruto Calls For a Dialogue with Gen Z
The President proposed to hold dialogue and engage with young people to listen to their issues. He promised to and agreed with them on priority areas of concern.
Ruto also proposed, within the next 14 days, a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder engagement “to talk about the way forward about the content of the bill as well as strengthening our fight against corruption.”
The President went further to propose Parliament, Judiciary, and County government to work with National Treasury to also undertake budget cuts to ensure they stay within our means.
“I shall continue to lead a government that is fully committed to maintaining the integrity of our state, promoting the unity of our nation, and enhancing the peace and security of all citizens and their livelihoods.” He concluded.
