Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria has detailed how his remarks have in the past rubbed many top leaders in the country the wrong way especially President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Addressing the media on Saturday, April 2, the legislator recalled a time when he castigated the Jubilee government over lack of development projects within the Mount Kenya region.
He added that the comments drew sharp criticism from Uhuru's allies who termed the remarks as disrespectful.
"I'm not asking for a bonus for what I said. At the time in 2019, they (Uhuru's allies) stated that it was disrespectful to the President, so I said remove the disrespect part of it and let's face the facts. Let's say that it was said in the wrong way, you say it your own way but does it change the facts?" Kuria posed.
The lawmaker called out the current regime's insatiable appetite for loans, which has pushed the country's debt levels to an all-time high.
"Even what we are calling development projects, it was a trial and error kind of approach. In the first 5 years, you go and borrow, now when you try to implement these projects, there's no money to pay."
"People can no longer put food on their tables. Books are not balanced from the domestic level, corporate level is not balanced at the country level. So who is doing well?" he asked.
The MP noted that he would advocate a couple of remedies to the Kenya Kwanza in dealing with the ballooning debt, should the coalition form the next government.
One of the remedies involved the formation of an independent debt management office or authority that is diverse from the Treasury. He added that it would be able to regulate the debt levels and balance the cash books in the government.
"Implementation of the independent debt management office or authority as has happened in the US and other countries is very important," Kuria noted.
The country's ballooning debt has elicited debate from politicians as some heaped praises on the Jubilee government for the massive infrastructural projects while others have castigated the move for plunging the country into an economic crisis.
At the end of June 2021, the country's public debt stood at Ksh7. 697 trillion.
Between 2013 and 2020, the country's debt level has increased by 300 per cent, whereby the figures jumped by Ksh685.72 billion to hit Ksh7.25 trillion by the end of November 2020.
