Deputy President William Ruto has called out former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, over his social welfare campaign aimed at awarding poor families Ksh6,000 per month, terming it as a failed copy-paste narrative of his Bottom Up model.
Ruto, who was in the Coast region on Thursday, October 14, to popularise his 2022 presidential bid, accused Raila of using old tactics to woo voters even when he is aware that his campaign promises are unrealistic and cannot be achieved.
The Deputy President, termed the Raila social welfare campaign, as a re-introduction of the culture of handout that Kenyans are no longer interested in.
“I hear that the Mr. Proverbial ‘Kitendawili’ (Raila) wants to bring handouts. I urge him to join the discussion of the ‘hustler’ and the economy but these youths do not want handouts but jobs,” stated Ruto.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader's Ksh100 billion social welfare programme seeks to give Ksh6,000 per month to the poorest families in the country with an aim of reducing the poverty levels and gap between the rich and the poor.
Raila announced that the money to fund the programme will be raised without introducing new taxes but through cutting on the government spend and recovering proceeds of graft.
At the same time, Ruto also criticized the recent meetings between Raila's recent meetings with Mt Kenya tycoons, saying that the common person has been left out.
“All these tycoons, we have taught them a lesson. They have stopped talking about slogans such as ‘Kitendawili’ and are now talking about the economy," Ruto stated.
“But we are not yet done with them, we shall take them back to the classrooms as we are not in need of handouts but bottom up economic empowerment.”
The DP asked his supporters to embrace the bottom-up economic model and support his presidential bid as it is the only way to absorb them from the economic shocks.
Lungalunga Member of Parliament, Khatib Mwashetani, who had accompanied the DP, praised him for changing the course of political discussion in the country from tribal to economic-based.
“Thank you Deputy President, it is through you that the political discussion has changed. We became tired of slogans and now we are more focused on issues," noted Mwashetani.
