Civil Societies Reference Group now want President William Ruto to come out clearly and address the concerns that have been raised regarding the new Infrastructure kitty (National Infrastructure Fund)
According to CSRG president David Otieno, the President must tell Kenyans how his government will fund the same and through which legal provisions.
“Of course, people need roads, but what people need to ask is, where is the money coming from? And you see, when a fund is established, it’s like organizing for a fundraising. You say you are targeting some money, and well, we shall come to contribute. So the question is, when we are taking a fund, then where is the fund coming from? One is that some of these funds can come in the form of loans, which is still going to increase on the burden. Of course, lack of clarity, as you have just said, as to which roads we are talking about. I think the government should stop. Already we have got a lot of infrastructure fund that has come through loans, and it’s already burdening the taxpayers.” Otieno said.
He further asked Kenyans to hold the government accountable for all resources at their disposal.
‘‘The best feelings of the people – I know people, very many Kenyans are suffering now. And perhaps when we are talking about impact, we are talking about impact to each class of people. So I know the impact might be felt by big businesses or people who are engaged in large-scale farming.But the people in the communities, the rural areas and the informal settlements are bearing the brunt of high cost of living, lack of water. The conditions are deteriorating, insecurity. You know, we have even people who are still affected by floods or by landslides being killed.’’ He added.
Otieno was reacting on Rutos’ state of the nation address that was marred controversies.
