Musalia Mudavadi: Our economy is at stake –politicking won’t help during Covid-19 pandemic

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader and former Finance Minister
Musalia Mudavadi has said that the country’s state of the economy is at stake,
terming the country ‘broke’, owing to the ongoing fight against the Coronavirus
pandemic.

Speaking at an interview with a local TV station, the NASA
coalition co-principal said that this is not the time for politicking but to
join hands in cushioning the economy.

“The emphasis should not be on the politicking we are seeing
today, we must channel our efforts to the economy,” said Mudavadi.

The ANC leader added that the move by President Uhuru
Kenyatta to change the leadership of Jubilee party, which has sparked
controversy in recent political state, is meant to unite and move the country
forward.

“There is a lot of misrepresentation in what the president
is doing. President Uhuru is not trying to kill the opposition. We can have
unity of purpose to move the country forward,” he said.

He added that it is high time for the country to look at
measures that cushion the entire economy, right from the commercial loans it
owes to creditors.

Mudavadi said that this is the right time to take the matter
seriously, and “not to let such negotiation opportunities sleep off our hands.”

“The danger is in the commercial loans that we took in
succession. We must come to the table with the creditors and see how these
loans will be repaid,” said the ANC leader.

The G20 member states recently issued some relief guidelines
to developing countries to undertaken in repaying their loans after the
coronavirus pandemic, however, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani advised
off the move saying it can be costly if adopted.

Musalia further note that the country should not issue
unrealistic targets to the tax man, urging the government to set targets within
their means.

“KRA should be given realistic targets and we must learn to
live within our means. Let’s not expect Good Samaritans from outside, we must
work things out ourselves,” he explains.

The ANC leader said that it is time for the government to
call off mega projects as the country runs out of resources.

“The president’s agenda four are good programs but the
reality is we do not have resources to fund them right now,” he said.