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{
    "id": 1545171,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545171/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 221,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Methu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13581,
        "legal_name": "Methu John Muhia",
        "slug": "methu-john-muhia"
    },
    "content": "” We need to put that statement to test. In his first year, the former President, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta had accumulated a debt of Kshs437 billion since he was sworn in in September, 2013 to September, 2014. What about our ‘angel’ who was supposed to correct that problem? President William Ruto had accumulated a debt of Kshs1.2 trillion in his first year. Since we are not borrowing this money for any other people, but the people of Kenya, we need to ask ourselves this question. Is it that the quality of life of the people of Kenya has improved since President William Ruto came to power? Former President Uhuru Kenyatta with a debt of Kshs437 billion in his first year ensured our secondary school education was affordable and almost free. We need to then put to test the new administration of President William Ruto. Out of the Kshs1.2 trillion, how much has gone to making the lives of the people of Kenya better in his first one year in office? We must all appreciate that in his first year of his presidency, taxes increased. He prevailed upon us to be very patriotic, press the pay slips and give as much as we could, so that we could support the national Government to stop borrowing. This was to ensure that we can develop and grow our own country using our own money. He said that if we are able to spare a shilling or two from our pay slip and pay taxes, then we would have a balanced budget. Three years later, our deficit in our budget is now running to trillions of money. It is the first time that we are seeing this kind of a deficit in a national budget. Even if the President continue borrowing, the quality of the life of the people of Kenya will never get better. If you were to put that statement to test, one board of gypsum in 2022 when William Ruto became President was costing Kshs630. Three years into his presidency, it is costing more than Kshs1,000. University education, by the time he became President of this Republic, it was at least Kshs44,000 per student every academic year. In his new University Funding Model, students are paying up to Kshs240,000 for one student in one academic year. He has made education extremely expensive. It has become extremely difficult to be a Kenyan. That is why you hear every time people saying that they hold the freedom of their payslips because they cannot feel the impact of the taxes they are paying to this Government. They are not getting quality services from this Government. The general expectation of the people of Kenya is that we are supposed to get better services when our national budgets are growing. When I was first elected as a Member of Parliament here, I was paying about Kshs2,700 for health insurance. However, I am paying Kshs37,000 according to the new arrangement that was brought by President William Ruto. If indeed I were to access healthcare and I do not need to spend my own money again, I would feel that it was worth it. However, what has happened, our health system has collapsed and we all know The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}