‘There is nothing to celebrate about Madaraka Day’ – Babu Owino

Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino now says there is nothing to celebrate as the country held its 61st Madaraka Day fete in Bungoma on Saturday, June 1, 2024.

Babu, a firebrand opposition figure, pointed out reasons why he believes there is nothing worth celebrating under William Ruto‘s government.

“There is nothing to celebrate about Madaraka Day if our parents can’t afford school fees! Nothing to celebrate if Ruto is increasing taxes for poor Kenyans!

“Nothing to celebrate if Mama Mboga has not graduated from a kiosk to a supermarket, as was promised by the fake hustler. Nothing to celebrate,” Babu wrote in a statement on X.

As Babu remains unconvinced, President Ruto led the nation in celebrating the historical day at Masinde Muliro Stadium in Kanduyi, Bungoma.

Agriculture was the main theme of the event, and the president took time to explain how his government is helping the sector grow.

“To enhance our capacity to coordinate agricultural production and deliver services to the sector more efficiently, we are developing and integrating a farmers’ and agripreneurs database into the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Information System.

“As we speak, the database already has 6.4 million registered farmers, and our aim is to serve them better by improving access, sharing, and utilization of information in the agricultural sector. Our strategic interventions have led to a marked increase in value addition initiatives. Measures are underway to boost coffee productivity from 2kg to 10kg per tree and from 50,000 metric tons to 102,000 metric tons a year by 2027.

“Under the coffee sector reforms that we initiated, a Ksh4 billion coffee cherry fund was established, Ksh2 billion of which has been paid, with the balance allocated for payment in the 2024/2025 financial year. This will ensure farmers get good returns for their investments. We are also writing off Ksh 6.9 billion in debt owed by coffee cooperatives,” Ruto said.

Ruto also outlined how the government has helped the leather sector develop and, in the end, create jobs.

“We are invested in developing our leather sub-sector to support competitive export industries, supporting many thriving enterprises and households.

“In this connection, we have committed to implementing strategies aimed at increasing incomes from Ksh15 billion to Ksh120 billion a year, multiplying job opportunities from 17,000 to 100,000, and raising annual footwear production from the current 8 million to 36 million pairs worth Ksh72 billion by 2027,” he added.

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