Sifuna’s Big 2027 Plan: How He Wants to Cut Taxes and Save KSh 1.8 Trillion
Nairobi Senator & Linda Mwananchi presidential hopeful Edwin Sifuna has got big plans to sort out some of the problems facing Kenya. If he gets elected as president in 2027 his aim is to cut taxes, chop KSh 1.8 trillion off government waste, and make some much-needed reforms to Kenya’s education & healthcare systems.
Sifuna claimed that a team of experts advised him that if they crack down on that government waste and take a really good look at how the government is spending its cash, Kenya can get its books in order within 15 months, which is pretty fast.
The senator also made a commitment to get a national register of schools up & running, to get the hospitals paid on time within 30 days, and to make taxes a bit less painful for Kenyans.
This lot came out just as Sifuna has been unleashing some pretty harsh criticism on President William Ruto, calling him a failure in the process. And that has got a lot of politics heating up with the next General Election looming on the horizon.
Sifuna Proposes Tax Cuts, KSh 1.8 Trillion in Savings
Sifuna says he wants his economic reforms to be all about stopping the government from squandering cash, while at the same time cutting taxes that are hurting households & businesses.
According to Sifuna, a team of experts reckons they can wriggle out between KSh 500 billion to KSh 1.8 trillion by stopping the government waste – and they say they can do it by going through the budget line by line and spotting where the waste is. You can get rid of VAT on fuel, ditch the housing levy, or reduce VAT on electricity for instance.
The plans include getting rid of Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel, scrapping the housing levy and knocking VAT on electricity down a peg.
Sifuna says this is all part of a bigger plan to make everyday life a bit more affordable for people, and to make sure the government is managing it’s cash in a more sensible way.
But (to be honest) its worth remembering that the figures for how much money there is to save, and how long it will take to get the books balanced, are all based on the views of Sifuna and his team, rather than any sort of outside confirmation.
Sifuna Plans National Data Bank for Schools
When it comes to education, Sifuna made it clear that his administration would be giving top priority to setting up a national database that’s got all the information on schools and students across the whole of Kenya.
He reckons the government just doesn’t have a reliable grasp on the numbers, how many schools they’ve got, how many students, that sort of thing. Which is a major worry for him because he thinks it’s being used as a cover for mismanaging the cash that gets allocated for education.
Sifuna put it pretty bluntly, “When it comes to education, the government has no idea what it’s talking about. They can’t even tell you how many students there are, or how many schools. It’s all just a ruse to avoid having to justify where the capitation cash is going. So the very first thing we want to do is get a national data bank up and running so that Kenyans can finally get a handle on things.”
Sifuna thinks that database would be a game changer for the sector, it would mean that Kenyans could actually get some real information on schools and students, and it would also bring some much-needed transparency into how education funding is being used.
He also had some pretty sharp words on capitation funds, these are the funds that help pay the bills for schools and keep education services running.
Sifuna argued that sorting out the data mess would be a huge step towards getting a handle on exactly how public money is being spent in the sector.
Sifuna Promises Hospitals Payment Within 30 Days
Sifuna also laid out some of his ideas for shaking up the healthcare system and one of the things he promised was that hospitals would get paid for their work within 30 days if he becomes president.
He reckons the current system is a real problem because it leaves hospitals high and dry for ages, and that’s got to affect the services they can provide. People can’t provide healthcare if they’re broke and struggling to pay the bills.
Sifuna put it pretty simply “We’ll give every hospital in Kenya a guarantee, if you do the work, we pay you within 30 days. But if you ever try to scam the system, even once, you’re out. No second chances.”
Under his plan, hospitals would know that as long as their claims are legitimate, they’ll be paid on time. But if they get caught trying to scam the system, they’d lose access to the system altogether.
And that’s all part of a wider scheme to get public services working more efficiently.
Sifuna Calls Ruto a Failure, Says President Fears Defeat
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna had some choice words for President William Ruto during an interview recently, laying the blame squarely at the president’s feet for failing to do his job properly.
Sifuna reckons that all the insults that come out of the president’s mouth are just like the ones Ruto used to sling at the late Raila Odinga back in the day. And let me tell you, he says, that kind of behaviour from the Head of State is just plain unacceptable.
Think about it, Sifuna says – just because you’ve built a big fancy stadium, doesn’t mean you deserve a standing ovation. We need to see some transparency here, not just a bunch of flashy new projects. And as far as he’s concerned, the biggest failure of all is when you break your oath of office.
The senator also made the point that just because there are some pretty major infrastructural projects getting underway, doesn’t mean that the public should just shut up and accept whatever the government is giving us without question. We have a right to demand more. And Sifuna has a suspicion that Ruto is getting very anxious about the upcoming 2027 elections and that’s why he’s going on the attack.
Sifuna Responds to Extortion Allegations
Sifuna also got in a few digs at the president over allegations of extortion that have been flying back and forth in the media.
In response to the claims, Sifuna said that if you were to make a list of all the things that have been alleged against him, you’d find out that a lot of the same accusations could also be levelled at Ruto. Now, Sifuna says he’s not here to deny the allegations but he does reckon that Ruto’s got a pretty long list of unproven allegations hanging over him too.
It’s all part of the ongoing battle between the two leaders and so far, neither one has managed to score a knockout blow.
The Equitable Party Set for Linda Mwananchi Rebrand
And finally, Sifuna confirmed that his party, The Equitable Party, is in the process of rebranding itself.
According to Sifuna, the party’s NEC has already signed off on the name change and the necessary paperwork has been sent off to the authorities to register the new name. It looks like The Equitable Party is going to be morphing into Linda Mwananchi, a name change that Sifuna reckons will help him appeal to voters in the 2027 General Election.
All being well, the rebranding should be completed in time for the elections but first, Sifuna’s got to wait for the necessary paperwork to be rubber-stamped.
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Sifuna’s Big 2027 Plan: How He Wants to Cut Taxes and Save KSh 1.8 Trillion
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