There is a split in Azimio as Martha Karua and Eugene Wamalwa have declined to sign the National Dialogue Committee report because it does not do enough to address the cost of living.
Yet the cost of living is a global problem affecting every country in the world due to the Ukraine war and the tightening of credit after COVID-19 by governments.
Public unhappiness about the rising cost of living is why right-wing populists won the elections in Holland and Argentina last month. It is also why the Ruto government is struggling to sustain its popularity.
There is no point in blaming the IMF. The IMF is a 'lender of last resort' that governments turn to when they are broke. The IMF always tells governments to balance their books by raising taxes and cutting expenditures.
Kenya is struggling to repay the Eurobond in June 2024 and to pay down the huge government debt accumulated over the last 10 years. The IMF cannot be avoided.
Even if it is global, the cost of living is still a political problem for all governments. Every government must find its own way to solve it.
Quote of the day: “A minimum of comfort is necessary for the practice of virtue.”
Patrice Lumumba
The Congolese Prime Minister was arrested by Colonel Mobutu on December 1, 1960
