Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has come to the defense of President William Ruto’s administration, urging critics to look back at the shortcomings of the previous government before pointing fingers at the current regime.
Speaking on Sunday in Suna West, Migori County, Mbadi questioned what exactly had gone wrong under President Ruto that wasn’t already present during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure.
"What is it that is going so badly now that didn’t happen during Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency?" he questioned, suggesting that a lot of criticism directed at Kenya Kwanza lacks merit.He dismissed baseless allegations, stating that the current government is working hard to improve the economy.
According to the CS, this financial year marks a turning point for county governments. For the first time, he said, counties have received their full budget allocations for the 2024/2025 financial year, something that was rare in the past.
He also added that all arrears owed from the previous year have been settled.
"In the entire Uhuru presidency, we had not been transferring money to counties in full. This year, we released all allocations, including the arrears from 2023/2024," said Mbadi.He further highlighted that the Kenya Kwanza government has increased the amount of sharable revenue going to counties, an indication, he said, of its commitment to devolution.
In addition, Mbadi noted that every constituency has received its full share of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) for the 2024/2025 financial year something that, he claimed, hadn’t happened consistently for nearly a decade.
