Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka says the Opposition will continue pushing for accountability in President William Ruto’s administration.
Kalonzo called for accountability on the use of taxes by the Kenya Kwanza government.
“The Opposition will continue to push for accountability in government to ensure that the national revenue generated locally is utilised for Kenyans’ benefit,” Kalonzo said.
The former Vice President was speaking when he presided over the official opening of a private hotel in Mwala, Machakos county on Saturday.
He also challenged the government to uphold transparency and accountability in handling remittances from Kenyans living abroad.
Kalonzo said the remittances were expected to play a key role in bolstering the country’s economy, including creation of employment opportunities for the citizens.
“When we talk about remittances by Kenyans in the diaspora, this facility is a very good example of how you use those remittances," Kalonzo said.
"We are going to work hard to make Kenya better for investment because we have a lot of unfinished business with youth unemployment,” he added.
Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that between January and July this year, diaspora remittances stood at $2,075 billion (Sh267.74 billion).
Last year, Kenyans living abroad sent home a record $4.19 billion (Sh671 billion), a 4 per cent increase from $4.028 (Sh645 billion by January exchange rates) compared to similar period in 2022.
Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti said her administration was keen on collaborating with Kenyans abroad with the aim of courting them to invest back home.
“I have established an office dedicated to diaspora affairs reporting directly to me. We will seek to provide end-to-end service to the diaspora partners in idea generation [and] document processing to make sure they do not lose their hard-earned money,” Ndeti said.
She said the private hotel would boost the local economy and add immeasurable value to the tourism circuit not only in Machakos but Kenya at large.
“This community will never be the same again. The horizontal infrastructure that accompanies this kind of an investment will positively impact on the lives of the local community including expanded business opportunities and employment,” Ndeti said.
