President Ruto on Friday announced a raft of austerity measures aimed at cutting government spending in view of the tough economic times.
This includes scrapping at least 47 state corporations with overlapping functions, suspension of hiring of Chief Administrative Officers and reduction of government advisers.
He has also scrapped budgets for the offices of the First Lady, Second Lady and the Spouse of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
Also scrapped is the provision for confidential budgets in his office, his deputy's and other executive offices.
All these are steps in the right direction which should have come yesterday and needed not to wait for a revolt by the Gen Z to be executed.
The offices of the CAS add no value and need not even have been considered in the first place.
Similarly, it makes no sense to have the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation, Industrial Development Bank and the Tourism Trust Fund yet they all have the core mandate of lending to the private sector.
In the education sector we have the Commission for University Education and the Kenya National Qualifications Authority whose mandates are not far apart.
However, over and above the austerity measures, the President must slay the corruption vampires.
The country can save all it wants but unless corruption is dealt a blow, little progress will be achieved.
Quote of the Day: “Live so when your children think of fairness and integrity they think of you.”
Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader of Tibet's Lamaistic Buddhists, was born on July 6, 1935