President William Ruto has instructed Treasury to reduce his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta's, last national budget by Ksh300 billion.
While addressing Parliament on Thursday, September 29, Ruto added that the Treasury will coordinate work with various ministries to cut down on unnecessary expenditures.
He explained that the budget was high and unsustainable, forcing the government to borrow from other financial institutions. Uhuru's last budget read by outgoing Treasury CS Ukur Yatani totalled Ksh3.3 trillion.
"Over the next three years, we must go back to the situation where the government contributes to the national saving scheme.
"To this end, I have instructed the Treasury to work with ministries to find at least Kshs300 billion in this year's budget because the market cannot sustain the kind of borrowing adopted as a government," he announced.
Most of the money borrowed by the government, Ruto pointed out, was channelled to recurrent expenditures such as the wage bill asserting that the practice would not develop the economy.
"I am committed and determined to ensure that our tax system is responsive to the needs of the economy. It must be equitable efficient and friendly," he stated.
Ruto also opined that excessive borrowing by Uhuru's government had affected the savings scheme as financial institutions cannot focus on managing pension schemes.
In return, he revealed that his administration would work towards reviewing the saving culture by reviewing the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to ensure that the future of Kenyans is guaranteed.
"The very large government borrowing has undermined businesses' contribution to saving and investment efforts," he stated.
However, his promise to slash the budget attracted criticism from Azimio la Umoja leaders who opined that he had more to do than make empty pledges.
"I have heard the President ask the ministries to look for savings of up to Ksh300 billion in this year alone, while at the same time he is not making any mention of how to deal with corruption.
"There is no way the ministries are going to save that kind of money yet you as the president are not dealing with corruption," Ugunja MP and Azimio La Umoja politician, Opiyo Wandayi stated.