Raila says Ruto foreign trips waste of money: ‘No investor will come to Kenya under current tax regime'

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has labelled President William Ruto’s foreign trips an utter waste of time and public resources.

Ruto has made tens of trips to several countries since taking over power in September last year and has defended them as a mission to attract foreign investors to Kenya and organise jobs abroad for Kenyans.

However, according to Odinga, Ruto’s administration’s tax hikes are counter-productive in attracting foreign investment. The former prime minister says Kenya’s current tax regime is scaring away investors.

“We have created a very unfriendly environment for business; those already in the country are suffering because of high taxation… if the government wants to take everything from you, what is the incentive to do business? People will be looking at tax-friendly destinations,” Odinga told Citizen TV in an exclusive interview broadcast Wednesday.

He dismissed Ruto’s trips abroad, especially the president’s US-Kenya business roadshow in September which saw him meet leaders of top American technology companies and investors in a bid to highlight the business and investment potential in Kenya’s booming tech sector.

Before any foreign investor chooses to invest in Kenya, Odinga argued, they ask those already here how the environment is. He called Ruto’s efforts to woo foreign investors a waste of time.

“You are saying you are travelling around the world to attract investors; no investor will come when those already here are not feeling comfortable,” he said.

“You can make so many trips to the US, to Silicon Valley, but they will ask those American companies which are already here. So, it’s a waste of time and public funds globetrotting hoping you will bring investment here.”

There has been public anger as Kenyans battle a high cost of living amid tax hikes, slashed subsidies and increased fuel prices which have led to a spike in the price of commodities.

High inflation and a weakening currency have also increased the country’s debt repayment costs.

Treasury data shows that Kenya had accumulated more than Ksh.10.1 trillion ($66 billion) in debt by the end of June.

But President Ruto has defended his economic policies and has recently said on several occasions that the country has emerged “safely out of the danger of debt distress”.