EALA MP Kanini Kega Slams Kenya Kwanza Government Over Cost of Living

East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Kanini Kega has criticised the Kenya Kwanza government claiming the current administration lied to Kenyans that it would lower the cost of living, within one year of being elected into office.

Speaking during an interview with Inooro TV on Monday morning, Kega who in recent times has warmed up to the current administration, asked the government to apologise, claiming that telling people the truth is the best course of action, since it will prepare them adequately for hard times. 

During the interview, Kega further dismissed the assertion by Kenya Kwanza leaders that the handshake between former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio leader Raila Odinga and the protracted Russia-Ukraine war had a negative effect on various sectors of the Kenyan economy.

According to Kega, politicians don’t have the absolute power or sway to determine how the economy will move, except when they are influential like the President, Deputy President Cabinet Secretary, or when they are in charge of policy in key government institutions.

Per the legislator, the economy of a country is measured by the exchange rate and balance of trade.

Moreover, he added that the economy of Kenya is worse compared to the East African countries and the Kenyan Shilling continues to record a decline.

“Our biggest trading partner is Uganda. We used to export a lot to Uganda. Most of the companies were producing their products in Kenya later selling them to Uganda, but speaking today, most of the companies have shifted they are now producing products in Uganda and then bringing them to Kenya thus affecting the balance of trade.” Kega said.

Further, Kega posed that if the Kenyan shilling continues to depreciate, most companies will shift to other countries, which will in turn deny young Kenyans employment opportunities.

Moreover, Kanini Kega criticised Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria claiming that the latter did not make any attempts to address key matters in the Trade Ministry such as the balance of trade in the East African market.

Kega seized the opportunity to call upon new Trade CS Rebecca Miano to put in place measures to ensure Kenyan traders can effectively access the East African market.

At the same interview, Kega also questioned President William Ruto’s promise to strengthen the Kenyan Shilling against the dollar. According to Kega, the Shilling is likely to depreciate further.

“We expect dollar exchange to go up because most of our trade partners are using their currency but in Kenya we are heavily reliant on dollars to trade,” said Kega.