Ruto meets Catholic Bishops, welcomes commitment to national dialogue

President William Ruto has today met catholic bishops ahead of the commencement of the multi-sectoral talks on critical issues facing the country.

The meeting held at Statehouse, Nairobi brought together bishops under the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) umbrella.

It was led by its chairperson Archbishop Maurice Muhatia.

In a statement, Ruto expressed his satisfaction at the decision by the clergy to take part in the process.

"We welcome the commitment by the Catholic Church to participate in a multi-sectoral engagement that seeks solutions to the issues facing our country," he said.

He was confident that through such an engagement, the country would find solutions to the challenges bedeviling the nation.

"Through this collective approach, we will move Kenya forward," he stated.

During his address Wednesday, Ruto proposed that within the next 14 days, a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder engagement would be held to chart the way forward on matters relating to the content of the Finance Bill, 2024.

This, he added, will also include the auxiliary issues raised in recent days on the need for austerity measures and strengthening our fight against corruption.

"There is a need for us as a nation to pick up from here and go into the future and because we have gotten rid of the Finance bill, it is necessary for us a nation going forward to have a conversation on how to manage the affairs of the country together, our debt situation and the budget deficit that exist," he said.

Ruto was forced to withdraw the Bill after widespread protests from Kenyans who termed it oppressive.

The new austerity measures, he announced, are set to affect crucial state departments including his office.