Deputy President William Ruto dismissed the recently commissioned Uhuru Gardens Museum as an unbudgeted project which his government will do away with.
Speaking during the presidential debate on Tuesday night July 26, 2022, Ruto detailed how his government will manage Kenya’s spiralling debt crisis should he win the August 9 election.
The Deputy President said should he become Kenya’s fifth president his government will put a brake on borrowing and on unbudgeted projects.
“We have a plan as Kenya Kwanza on how to manage our debts. Number one we will put the brake on borrowing, number two we will put a brake on unbudgeted projects. In fact, that’s the biggest source of our problems. Projects that are not within the budget so that we cannot keep the fiscal deficit at what we have committed. We are living beyond our means, we should stop this borrowing spree. In our first term, we borrowed 2.2 trillion. From 2017 our handshake brothers have borrowed 4.2 trillion,” Ruto said.
The UDA presidential candidate further noted that Uhuru Gardens Museum is among unbudgeted projects that his administration would put a brake on.
“Our administration will first slow down on borrowing, remove unbudgeted projects because that’s the biggest incentive then go back to raising our own revenue. When you look at our fiscal deficit there are too many projects that are not budgeted for example the Uhuru Gardens Museum you don’t see it anywhere in the government budget but you see it built,” Ruto said.
Uhuru Gardens Museum
Uhuru Gardens Museum was commissioned on May 31, 2022, by President Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of the Madaraka Day celebrations.
President Kenyatta, who was accompanied by his visiting Sierra Leone counterpart President Julius Maada Bio, made an extensive tour of the ultra-modern museum developed by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
As part of the commissioning, the President lit a memorial flame and laid a wreath of flowers in honour of Kenya’s heroes including freedom fighters in an elaborate military ceremony that included a special parade and march-past by KDF.
President Kenyatta was joined by several dignitaries among them Former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta and Mama Ida Odinga, as well as several Cabinet Secretaries and top military officials led by Chief of Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi.
Uhuru Gardens was officially declared a National Monument in 1966 being the place where the first Kenyan flag was first raised and thus marking the very first year of independence on December 12, 1963.
