President William Ruto has broken silence about the expenditure on his recent trip to the United States (US).
Speaking during an interview with VOA Africa, the Head of State dismissed the ongoing claims, stating they are completely exaggerated.
Ruto assured Kenyans that he is in fact very careful about the resources that he spends contrary to the ongoing claims.
Also Read:
He went on to state that he has significantly slashed the funding for his office and different government agencies.
The president additionally underscored that the move to reduce his expenditure is to accommodate other sectors that need funding.
"I think the expenditure on my trip is completely exaggerated. They are actually bordering on ridiculous. I am very careful about the resources that I spend. In fact, I have cut down on funding to my office. I have cut down on funding to different government agencies.
"In fact, I have reduced by 30% recurrent expenditure in this budget so that we can accommodate, we can live within our means as I have said, and we can push more resources to the realm of development, to the realm of education, to providing help and doing the things that matter, including cash transfers to citizens. So I am very careful about how the government spends," Ruto stated.
When asked to quote the specific amount spent on his trip, Ruto declined to give an exact answer and instead maintained that the numbers being peddled were untrue and ridiculous.
"There are people who will answer those questions, but I can tell you from where I sit, that the numbers being bandied around are ridiculous, to say the least," he added.
For the better part of the week, quarters criticized the president over claims that he ditched the traditional presidential jet for a chartered Boeing 737-700 business jet at a value of Ksh200 million.
A section told off the president accusing him of doublespeak when the country grapples with lean times.
Before you go…how about joining our vibrant Telegram and WhatsApp channels for hotter stories?
Telegram: https://t.me/k24tvdigital
WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaKQnFUIXnljs50pC32O