Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said the Kenya Kwanza government is working on policy formulation mechanisms that will see all programmes and functions of the government working towards enhancing growth, sustainability and equity.
Speaking during this year’s People Dialogue Festival organised by the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD)., Mudavadi said the rule of thumb in government operations will be based on productivity that will see President William Ruto’s economic transformation agenda fulfilled.
“In all sectors of our economy we will be looking at the prospects of growth, sustainability and equity with all the debates revolving around how to turn things around for a better and working economy for Kenya.” Said Mudavadi.
The Prime CS acknowledged that Kenya is facing hard times citing a huge public debt, high costs of living, drought and other challenges. He noted that the interventions devised by the government to turn the situation around are guided by policies that point to the direction of prosperity.
Mudavadi said the government has reached a stage where it can no longer fund all programs reiterating that the assumption that the government can support all programmes does not reflect reality.
“Kenyans must stop living a lie and wake up to reality. What we need to work on is to make sure we rationalize the resources that are at our disposal, ensure prudent utilization of the resources we have and direct the resources to the relevant programmes and projects.” Said Mudavadi.
He, however, defended the government on the issue of taxation saying no government can operate without taxing its citizens. He said Kenya Kwanza is tactical and will ensure taxation is not punitive.
“We are re-looking at our priorities as a government. We want to direct the resources to the most critical areas, but I want to tell Kenyans the solutions we are working on are not instant coffee, they will take some weeks and months for us to turn around things,” He said.
“It is going to be commitment over a period of time since the global supply chain has been disrupted and it has become very expensive as a result of a number of things that are happening globally. Therefore, a keen look at the Bottom-Up Economic Transformational Agenda is what we are working on as the government.” the Prime CS added.
Mudavadi at the same time responded to the opposition’s calls for mass action to protest the present state of affairs in the country, saying dialogue is one of the most realistic approaches to help build trust and the political will for change.
Mudavadi said through open and honest communication people are able to better understand each other’s perspective, identify common ground, and find solutions to even the most challenging problems.
“I am a believer in dialogue as one of the most powerful tools that bridge the divide and bring people together. It is a tool that I have personally used numerous times, to great effect and this is what I encourage all leaders across all spheres of life to adopt,” said Mudavadi.
“It is not the number of demonstrations that we hold or intend to hold but the debate and dialogue on sound policies we are going to put on the table and have a candid honest discussion on where we want to take our country as a collective responsibility and not a one-man show,” said Mudavadi.
