By Tajeu Shadrack Nkapapa
Kakamega County Senator Boni Khalwale has called out the president to abolish the offices of his spouse, deputy president’s spouse and that of the Prime CS’s spouse also in what he termed as wasting public resources.
Kakamega Senator said that the offices of first, second lady, Prime CS’s spouse and that of Governor’s wives is a waste of tax payer’s money and they have unnecessarily been wasting millions of public money over the past years.
“As if that is not enough, we have an office for the Deputy President’s wife and another for the wife of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the same with governors,” Senator Khalwale said in the Senate.
“The Office of the First Lady, Second Lady, are actually foreign to the Constitution of Kenya 2010,” he added.
During the Presidential address on Sunday when President Ruto announced rejecting to sign the Finance Bill 2024 into law, promised the people of Kenya that his administration will try to adopt austerity measures in order to live within our means as a Country.
The President also pronounced the abolishment of the said offices of the spouses of elected public officials during a media roundtable interview at State House, Nairobi early this week.
During the Senate proceedings today, majority of the Senators agreed that there is wastage of public resources among state officers something that should be audited thoroughly to ensure there is accountability to the people of Kenya.
“We must start doing lifestyle audits to all of us, state officers and all governors. Any person who is serving in a public office we must do lifestyle audit. The reason Gen Z and other Kenyans were on the streets is because they are wondering how can you contribute Sh20 million in a harambee and yet they don’t even have a sh100,” Senator Cheragei told the Senate.
Nairobi Senator Hon. Sifuna also said that all unnecessary expenditure in government especially parliament should be abolished and re-direct the money to serve Kenyans who are paying taxes.
“This morning I checked my ETC card for the car I was granted by parliament, it had Ksh. 377 000, it does not make sense. I don’t need all these amount to travel to work,” Sifuna said in the Senate Proceedings.