Deputy President William Ruto has broken his silence on the biting fuel shortage in the country.
Speaking during a press briefing from his official Karen residence in Nairobi, the DP said that the fuel shortage was artificial, adding that unnamed persons were benefiting from the crisis.
He attributed the shortage to cartels and public officials, whom he denounced as reckless, and incompetent.
“This is the result between the collusion of monopolistic cartels and economic saboteurs, on the one hand and oblivious, reckless and incompetent public officials, on the other (hand),” the DP said.
He also lamented that the “insatiable greed and corruption in the country is driving Kenya over the cliff”.
DP Ruto said that the current state of affairs was a clear manifestation of the result of the conflict of interest and state capture that had penetrated all sectors of the economy.
He added that it was the reason why the “loudest messages from public officials in the midst of the crisis are centred on BBI and Azimio.
“This is why in the midst of this distressing crisis, the loudest messages from public officials, including ministers are centred on BBI reggae and Azimio jingle bells and whistles,” DP Ruto continued.
He called on the National Treasury to account for all diversions of cash out of Petroleum Development Fund and to restore the fuel subsidy mechanism fund without any further delay.
“The Treasury must rise to its constitutional accountability. We demand that public officials responsible listen to the agonising cry of millions of suffering Kenyans and do something about the rapidly deepening economic crisis,” the DP remarked.
Ruto’s statement comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Supplementary Budget Amendment Bill that unlocked Ksh139.7 billion to be used to meet financial needs in various sectors.
In the new law, the government allocated Ksh34.4 billion to a fuel stabilisation programmes aimed at cushioning Kenyans from the high fuel prices.
