The Office of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's budget has been reduced by 50 percent, and the docket allocated Kes 2.7 billion in the revised budget.
According to Principal Administrative Secretary Patrick Mwangi, the programs that Gahagua spearheaded, including coffee and dairy sector reforms and the fight against drug and substance abuse, will be curtailed.
“We are going to affect the operations of the programs that had picked really well in the coffee, tea, diary, avocado among other crops that we had started addressing. We are also going to face the heat on curbing social vices like alcohol that had taken steam.”
Committee Vice Chair Dido Rasso advised Gachagua’s office that he risks impeding progress in the agricultural reform sector and the drug and substance abuse fight if he fails to coordinate with other constitutional agencies.
“Are you looking beyond the horizon to seek the audience of NACADA, Ministry of Agriculture and other players like the coffee sector so that in the absence of resources, the agenda of his office is not impeded,” he said.
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On her part, Laikipia West MP Sarah Korere insisted that the Deputy President should leave the mandate on curbing drug and substance abuse to relevant agencies like NACADA who have the constitutional mandate.
“The Deputy President has no business handling issues of agriculture and NACADA.Its either we scrap NACADA and create and office to deal with drugs domained at the DP’s office.Or we strengthen NACADA to do what its should do,” she argued.
PS Mwangi reaffirmed that Gachagua’s office will not drop the ball on the strategic intervention in reforming the agricultural sector and curbing social vices through coordinating with agencies in the relevant ministries.
“A lot of these assignment we will continue undertaking them with the relevant ministries but we do request that the budget which may not be a priority at them.We can replough them to other critical sector within the office,”
