Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition party leader Raila Odinga has urged President William Ruto to drop the contentious Finance Bill 2023.
Instead, the former prime minister offered the head of state solutions that would lower the cost of living.
The Azimio leader also asked the President to apologize to Kenyans.
First, the opposition leader said that Dr Ruto should stop duplicating county tasks and responsibilities because the Ministry of Health was consuming a significant amount of government funds despite being a devolved function.
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Raila further pressed the President to adopt a zero-based budgeting methodology without taking into account any budgets that his predecessors had put in place throughout their tenures.
“Ruto should adopt a zero-based budgeting and not take the previous budget as his baseline,” he explained.
The ODM leader suggested that Dr Ruto reduce the budget in order to reduce living expenses. He asserted that the Head of State should close all loopholes that result in revenue loss rather than enacting a new set of levies.
The Azimio leader also objected to the appointment of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs), claiming that the decision was flawed and that it represented a country living above its means.
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He also urged the President to scale back the size of the executive, pointing out that the rising cost of the government’s payroll was eating away at the economy.
The former premier also urged Dr Ruto to “cut non-essential domestic and international travel.”
Last week, reports emerged that the office of the President was seeking Sh2 billion for foreign travel.
The opposition also argued for eliminating allowances for government workers, such as Cabinet Secretaries, in order to boost revenue.
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“Freeze ministerial out-of-station, house and domestic allowances for Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries,” said Raila.
“Finally, we ask Ruto to humble himself, withdraw this bill, offer apology and seek forgiveness from Kenyans for the anxiety caused and then begin afresh.”
The Sh3.6 trillion budget will be read on June 15.
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