First And Second Lady’s Offices Scraped As Focus Shifts To Ministries
President William Ruto announced on Sunday that the offices of the First and Second Ladies will no longer be prioritized in his administration.
During the Presidential Roundtable at the State House, the Head of State stated that the two offices will be eliminated beginning with the new fiscal year, which begins tomorrow, Monday, July 1.
He stated that the decision was made in response to the anti-Finance Bill protests, which led to his administration shelving the Finance Bill 2024 entirely.
“I know citizens have said there is no need for the office of the first lady and second lady but these are offices that have been there because we have to live within our means, those offices from tomorrow will not be part of our equation because in the face of what has happened, we have to trim down every other area,” the Head of State explained.
Offices of the First and Second Lady, CAS positions will not be included in the new budget, President Ruto says; the government will trim costs following withdrawal of Finance Bill 2024. pic.twitter.com/CfUSYDqsLm
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) June 30, 2024
He also mentioned that ministries and state departments were under consideration for budget cuts in order to keep the government running in the coming fiscal year.
The President also hinted that sectors will face budget cuts, including the judiciary, which he boasted of increasing from Ksh18 billion to Ksh25 billion when he took office.
Counties are ordered to cut their budgets.
The counties scored a major win in the recently presented budget, as their budgets were increased to Ksh400.1 billion following the Council of Governors’ protracted talks with the National Government.
During the interview, the Head of State stated that after the bill is dropped, his office will be the first casualty, with the possibility of retrenchment.
He stated that his team intends to implement austerity measures such as office closures and staff reductions.
Ruto also stated that the decision to fire staff and government employees will be on the agenda for his meeting with the youth, which is scheduled to take place in less than a week.
“I will not lie to the country that putting down the Finance Bill is going to be easy. I have to be brutally honest and those consequences must start with me,” he added.
“To cut down the budget in my office and to implement an austerity programme that will cut down on unnecessary staff and offices that we can take down. I am ready to even engage the young people for us to agree on what we do with the debt.”
Initially, the Head of State warned that if the Finance Bill failed, operations at the President’s Office would be reduced by Ksh451 million, while the State House would lose Ksh500 million.
Other areas that would face significant budget cuts included Internal Security, which risks losing Ksh2 billion, and the Ministry of Defence, which risks losing Ksh7.75 billion.
The Head of State went on to explain that despite receiving Parliament’s approval, he chose not to appoint the 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs), noting that the timing was not ideal.
“No CAS will be appointed until we have an economy that can support more opportunities,” he told the panelists.
First And Second Lady’s Offices Scraped As Focus Shifts To Ministries
