Agano Party presidential candidate David Mwaure Tuesday seized the opportunity to discuss his manifesto at length after his Roots party counterpart Professor George Wajackoyah walked out.
Mwaure however said that he was disappointed Wajakoya did not participate in the presidential debate because it is their duty as leaders to allow themselves to be interrogated by the electorate.
On leadership and integrity, Mwaure said that it was about time Kenya had an ‘Obama or a Mandela’ moment noting that this year’s election on August 9th was a defining moment for Kenya.
“We are all here because previous leadership abdicated their responsibility. We need change and I am the change Kenya needs,” he said.
The Angano party leader speaking during the debate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa took a jab at some of his competitors claiming that they had been named in several scandals yet they still wanted to vie for the top seat.
“The promises my competitors are making are the same they made in the years 2017, 2013 and before. What has changed?” he asked.
Giving an example of the corruption plaguing the country, Mwaure said that his three competitors had information on the KEMSA millionaires’ scandal but none of them had fronted any names to give way for investigations.
In another example that touched on foreign nations, the Angano party leader said that the Auditor General revealed four years ago that Ksh 215 billion Eurobond money could not be accounted for and that it was stashed in offshore accounts abroad.
He also said that approximately Ksh 20 trillion is being held in foreign countries. This, he says, is money that if brought back to Kenya can help build the nation.
“Kenyans money is being used to develop other nations, this is immoral,” he said.
In addition, he said that his government would prioritise strengthening institutions and other agencies to fight impunity which is a result of corruption. “We will stop extra-judicial killings and act on unresolved cases,” he said.
On the ever-rising cost of living, Mwaure promised to reduce tax payments by 50 per cent.
Mwaure claimed that Kenya collects approximately Ksh 40 billion as tax and his government will reduce it by half and return the remaining half into the pockets of the people.
“We will implement a subsidy on basic food commodities. I applaud President Uhuru Kenyatta for doing so with maize meal, but more can be done. We will also reduce tax payments by 50 per cent,” he said.
If enforced, he says all Kenyans who earn above the Ksh32,332 per month cap will save up to Ksh4,850 monthly.
On unemployment, Mwaure said he plans to empower devolved governments that work closely with the wananchi.
“We will ensure that at least Ksh 50 million goes to devolved governments to help create job opportunities. We want to involve the chiefs and the nyumba kumi initiatives because it is at this level that we will be able to get employment ideas from mwananchi. And that is not all, we also have a plan to help finance start-ups from the youth,” he said.
Manifesto
His manifesto outlines numerous proposals for eliminating corruption, wastage, and mismanagement of public resources.
The 12 points he calls Covenants are; Agano to the constitution, the Family, Women, Youth, Persons Living with Disability, County Governments, Workers, Business Owners, the Economy, Religious Institutions, the Environment, as well as Agano to the International Community.
