Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa has defended President William
Ruto’s move to have additional advisors, despite announcing that he would
reduce the number to half as part of austerity measures.
Speaking on KTN, Barasa said Kenyans should not focus on the
number and instead look at the value they bring onboard.
He said that these advisors should be re-evaluated at least after
one year, insisting that they are the link between the many sectors in the
country.
The MP added that he does not see the advisors as many
because they each have a role they play.
“Kenyans should not focus on the number of advisers advising
the President, but should focus on the output; what is it that these advisors
are bringing to the table. We have very many sectors in the country and this
sectors have been complaining about lack of the government hearing their views
and their problems and these many advisors, who to me are not many, they just
represent the various sub-sectors we have in the country and their role and
responsibility is to provide linkage with the sectors.
“I want to challenge those saying the president has many
advisers to wait at least a year, and then we can re-evaluate the benefits the
advisers have brought to the Head of State,” Barasa said.
He reiterated that President William Ruto was very clear
when he said he was reducing the number of advisors by half.
Barasa noted that the recent appointment of Professor Makau
Mutua as advisor on constitutional affairs does not change the fact that the
number was reduced by half.
He said that he personally knows of about 12 individuals who
left advisor jobs after the President’s announcement.
“The first thing we need to understand is that the President
was very clear when he said he needed to reduce the number of advisors by 50
per cent. I am very aware that some of those advisors left government, others
were redeployed in offices, and the addition of Makau Mutua doesn’t increase the
number to over half. When Gen Z protests,d many of the advisors, I know of about
12 attached to various offices, the majority of them left,” the legislator stated.