The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Notably, President William Ruto rode to power on a platform of a raft of lofty promises and this explains the genesis of high public expectations. The government does not have money of its own and it relies on taxes, loans [majorly foreign loans] and grants to roll-out development projects and provide other services to citizens.
- As the President noted, it is hard to build our economy when we develop insatiable appetite of over borrowing foreign loans. We must avoid taking this route and raise our own taxes.
- Kenya is endowed with massive wealth and, if managed well, it is enough to develop our country.
I have been following with keen interest the statements and remarks attributed to President William Ruto since he was sworn-in. The issue of increase in tax collection has been at the core.
When he spoke a few days ago at an event organized by Kenya Revenue Authority [KRA], he not only congratulated those invited for paying their taxes in full and within the timelines stipulated in law but also disclosed the plan of his administration to meet the revenue targets.
We want the taxman to pull up the socks. We expect them to collect Sh3 trillion in this financial year up from Sh2.03 trillion collected in the previous fiscal year to June 2022.
He however told KRA officials to treat taxpayers with respect and decorum. Subjecting them intimidation and harassment is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
When you use force, you are not helping the matter. Once a word spread around, some of these people will close and run away. Others will evade paying taxes by employing other dirty tricks. This will be a setback for the government. It will not be able to meet the targets.
For the wealthy Kenyans, let us know if they fail to heed the call. We shall ensure they have become tax-complaint.
Notably, President William Ruto rode to power on a platform of a raft of lofty promises and this explains the genesis of high public expectations. The government does not have money of its own and it relies on taxes, loans [majorly foreign loans] and grants to roll-out development projects and provide other services to citizens.
As the President noted, it is hard to build our economy when we develop insatiable appetite of over borrowing foreign loans. We must avoid taking this route and raise our own taxes.
Kenya is endowed with massive wealth and, if managed well, it is enough to develop our country.
This clearly demonstrates the President is walking the talk. His priority is to put the money into the pockets of the citizens. Once this is done, I’m sure Kenyans with not have any problem paying taxes.
But here, I would expect them to bear one thing in mind. You cannot plant today and expect to harvest the next day. You have to toil by undertaking the following activities-plough, plant and till the farm. This will take some months. When the crops mature, you will smile as you reap sweat of your work.
President Ruto is, therefore, right when he tells Kenyans to wait a bit longer. When we assumed power, we realized that the situation at the National Treasury was bad than we anticipated.
We inherited a dilapidated economy, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua repeatedly stated. As a result, we were left with only one option; review the timelines for starting the implementation.
The roll-out of ‘hustler fund’ will now take place in December 1. The price of maize flour is set to come down in one year. This mess was created in four years. Just give me one year to fix it, the president reiterated.
Initially, Dr Ruto and his deputy had promised to fulfill them within 100 days.
The critics have been taking advantage of this to portray Dr Ruto in bad light. We told you the duo was pursuing personal and selfish interests and will abandon you immediately after ascending to power. You refused to heed our call.
To me, these criticisms were borne out of bitterness and not in good faith. The critics were yet to come to terms that they had lost election.
I want to ask the critics. If you were elected, what could you have done differently? What miracle would you have performed if indeed the economy was dilapidated?
Again, 100 days have not lapsed. It is therefore too early to criticize president Ruto. Give him time.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and a political commentator based in Nairobi
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