Deputy President William Ruto and his allies on Sunday gave Musalia Mudavadi a standing ovation as the ANC leader launched a blistering attack on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.
"It is confirmed there was indeed an earthquake in Kenya because a man spoke for millions of Kenyans," Ruto said in his speech. "Today marks a turning point, a new page in the political discourse of our nation.
"Musalia has spoken to the heart of our nation, to the issues of our nation. He has stood tall like no other time."
Mudavadi pointed out the ballooning public debt, theft of public resources, excessive taxation and wastage in government.
Ironically, Ruto, who attended ANC's National Delegate Conference, is part of the Jubilee administration.
Mudavadi, in a meeting in which many UDA members were also part, discredited President Kenyatta’s debt management strategy and public-private partnership projects anchoring Jubilee’s legacy.
“Kenya is broke. Tusidanganyane (Let us not lie to one another). The truth must be told, no matter how uncomfortably it may be to some,” he said.
“Kenya’s public debt is galloping towards the Sh9 trillion ceiling against a GDP of Sh11 trillion…meaning that for every Sh100 of revenue collected, Sh70 goes towards paying debt.
When we ask to be told how the SGR facility has been secured, for example, we are told in affidavits filed by the government in court that it is a state secret, a high national security risk
“That leaves a paltry Sh30 for public salaries, health services, education, security, infrastructure and all those services that fall under devolved government yet all the time we are told by faceless people not to speak about this to Kenyans,” Mudavadi said.
He added that Kenyans must be told that “the country is at the risk of being auctioned by international lenders and that critical assets have been mortgaged."
The Amani leader cited the standard gauge railway as among the establishments for which Kenyan assets are reportedly attached.
“When we ask to be told how the SGR facility has been secured, for example, we are told in affidavits filed by the government in court that it is a state secret, a high national security risk,” Mudavadi told delegates at Bomas of Kenya.
“This truly is an affirmation that our sovereign debt has become a matter of national security and a risk to our security.”
This was not the first time that Ruto and Mudavadi were reading from the same script on matters of national concern.
The first was the BBI launch, where they spoke against the proposed changes to the Constitution and the process.
Mudavadi accused the Uhuru administration of “borrowing recklessly to fund corruption” adding there was the need to save the country “from the looming danger”.
On PPP projects, the former Deputy Prime Minister said people in government, working with their close family members and cronies, were behind the multibillion-shilling legacy projects.
“These people are literally eating up our country. They are eating you up. For how long will we allow this to go on? These are the real thieves in our country,” Mudavadi said.
“What is happening in our country is unsustainable. If we do not create jobs for the youth and generate wealth, our country will explode
“These cartels don’t even pay taxes. They are the worst burden that the country has ever had to carry. We must reject them and their schemes, their political projects and sinister schemes. We are tired.”
The ANC leader accused the Uhuru administration of killing agriculture and nearly collapsing the education sector.
“The labour sector is in the ICU. Education is collapsing. The health sector is in the ICU. Agriculture is dead. The transport sector is a conduit for corruption. The security sector is dead,” Mudavadi said.
He castigated Jubilee’s energy reforms, saying the sector is “synonymous with grand larceny, the highest form of corruption.”
Mudavadi further took on Uhuru’s team, saying the country was “now hostage to robber barons where those who care are engrossed in political preservation and grand corruption.”
“What is happening in our country is unsustainable. If we do not create jobs for the youth and generate wealth, our country will explode.”
The ANC leader said he wouldn’t want to be part of the "boat of lies"/
"I was never trained to be a liar. I will not begin lying to Kenyans at my ripe age. I am not boarding that train of lies. Let me, instead, tell Kenyans the truth.”
On taxation, the ANC leader said the situation of "punitive taxation applied to anything and everything from airtime, to fuel, electricity, and agriculture" must be changed.
“Shouldn’t Kenyans know why it is cheaper to buy imported eggs, milk, maize, sugar, and tomatoes?” he asked, saying the high cost of living has eroded the dignity of Kenyans.
“State Fuliza has turned Kenya into a pariah society….how can we be proud that the government has bankrupted itself and the people? How can we accept to live on our knees?” he asked.
(Edited by Josephine Mayuya)