President offers 8 per cent VAT, asks Kenyans to brave pain of new Constitution

President Uhuru Kenyatta

In an admission of the tough times ahead, President Uhuru Kenyatta proposed to cut by a half the 16 per cent VAT imposed on petroleum products, then announced a raft of austerity measures expected to save the government Sh52.6 billion this financial year.

Addressing an expectant nation, the President signified his resolve to deal with wastage in government by proposing to allocate more resources to institutions in the frontline in the war against corruption, chiefly the Judiciary and the investigative and prosecutorial agencies.