President William Ruto has defended his decision to raise tax rates in the country, claiming that it has helped stabilize the economy, which he describes as being in a critical condition.
Speaking During an interview with DW News on Tuesday, President Ruto gushed about levelling an economy "on a slide into debt," which he accomplished by raising tax rates.
"There are no increases of any taxes we have proposed that are punitive. We are in charge of the economy. Everybody appreciates that we have stabilized the economy," he said.
The president also claimed that the country's stable economy had enabled it to tap into global markets, allowing for more investment.
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"We couldn't access the international financial markets when I took over, today we can access any international market because they have seen the kind of stability we have brought," he stated.
Recognizing that commodity prices must be reduced, President Ruto reaffirmed his commitment to supplying inexpensive basic commodities in the future.
The head of state added that Kenya has already received a shipment of food products, which he describes as a step towards his objective.
"Yes we have a crisis of commodity high prices, whether it is fertilizer, fuel and grain," he said.
"We have registered 5 million farmers, we are providing fertilizers and seeds for them to grow, we are importing food from across the globe and some of the imports arrived last week to begin to tamer the price of commodities." said ruto
"We are investing long term on irrigation and that is part of the conversation I will be having with German officials on how we can work together to change our agriculture from being rainfed to being under irrigation." he said
azimio la Umoja coalition is holding several rallies across the country and one of their demands is for the kenya kwanza government to reduce the cost of living.
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