Misuse of public funds risks fuelling tax boycott

By Ken Opalo

Throughout the week Kenyans have complained about the planned purchase of an office worth Sh700 million for former President Kibaki. As a result the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly axed the Kibaki office plan from next year’s estimates. The bizarre expense may be behind us, but it highlights the cavalier attitude with which those who manage our public finances do so. The Kibaki office plan made a complete mockery of the Government’s insistence that there is need for budget cuts, especially of the ever-growing wage bill. The colossal budgeting blunder (not forgetting the misguided free laptops idea) are emblematic not of a Government short on cash, but one with misguided priorities. It is no wonder that teachers, nurses, among other public workers are gearing up for industrial action to demand higher wages and benefits.