DCP Leader Rigathi Gachagua Unveils 8-Point Fiscal Plan to Counter Ksh. 4.8T National Budget

 

NAIROBI, Kenya — Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has launched a scathing attack on the Ruto administration, branding the proposed 2026/27 Budget Estimates and the accompanying Finance Bill 2026 as a "twin evil" engineered to fund state luxury and deep-seated corruption at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi, the former Deputy President took direct aim at the heavy financial allocations given to the executive, questioning the justification behind a massive Ksh. 17 billion budget for State House and the Presidency.

"This is funding opulence and corruption," Gachagua stated bluntly. "What does State House need Ksh. 17 billion for? Are there schools and hospitals in State House?"

Gachagua argued that the executive's spending priorities are fundamentally disconnected from the daily realities of Kenyans. He emphasized that previous administrations understood that critical, life-altering sectors like education, healthcare, and agriculture required robust funding. In contrast, he accused the current regime of choking these essential fields while inflating non-essential, bureaucratic expenditures.

The opposition leader also raised serious legal and constitutional concerns regarding Kenya's escalating debt profile. He claimed that the administration is borrowing an average of Ksh. 1.4 trillion annually without delivering tangible developmental returns. More critically, Gachagua accused the government of breaking statutory financial laws.

"Why is this regime in open violation of Article 211 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and Section 15(2)(C) of the PFM [Public Finance Management] Act 2012, which strictly prohibits the financing of recurrent expenditure using debt?" Gachagua questioned.

Turning his focus to the Finance Bill 2026, the DCP leader categorized it as "the worst Finance Bill in Kenya's history," warning that its implementation would drive households further into poverty. He sharply criticized a proposal to raise the excise duty on mobile devices from 10 percent to 25 percent. Gachagua noted that mobile phones are no longer luxuries but essential utilities for student learning, small-scale entrepreneurs, digital jobs, and financial inclusion. Raising their costs, he argued, would severely widen the country's digital divide.

To counter the government's economic strategy, Gachagua unveiled a comprehensive eight-point alternative fiscal plan on behalf of the DCP. His proposals include:

• Immediately halting Housing Levy deductions.

• Enforcing a drastic reduction in wasteful government spending.

• Capping national debt accumulation and aiming for zero new borrowing.

• Prioritizing localized funding for education, agriculture, and healthcare.

• Promptly settling outstanding pending bills owed to local businesses.

• Broadening the tax bracket through transparency rather than aggressive enforcement.

• Strengthening parliamentary oversight and restoring public accountability.

Gachagua declared that if given the opportunity to steer the country, the DCP would aggressively downsize the national budget from the current Ksh. 4.8 trillion to a leaner, more manageable Ksh. 3.7 trillion.

Under his alternative framework, the public administration budget would drop from Ksh. 354.9 billion to Ksh. 250 billion. Conversely, funding for agriculture would nearly triple from Ksh. 97 billion to Ksh. 300 billion, while the health sector allocation would climb from Ksh. 167.4 billion to Ksh. 450 billion.

"This Finance Bill is taxing Kenyans into poverty," Gachagua concluded. "It is a killer and a threat to the common mwananchi. It will break households while violating the soul of our nation."