Mbadi's economic misadventures show ODM can't offer better leadership

During the funeral of Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo in May, an emotional John Mbadi, the Treasury CS, declared his performance the yardstick by which to judge ODM's ability to lead this country. 

Intra-party fights have attended to Raila Odinga's loaning of ODM experts to the Kenya Kwanza government. Clearly, Raila did not consult within the party before committing. Perhaps he didn't have to. Haven't we been told time and again that Raila is ODM and ODM is Raila? 

Discomfitted by Sifuna's constant jibes, Mr Mbadi declared, "If I fail, there is no way in 2027 you will convince anyone that ODM can run a government". These words have since turned out to be prophetic. Everything about Mbadi's stewardship of the critical Treasury docket has failure stamped on it.

More poignantly, he has been instrumental in setting up his ODM colleague experts in government for failure. In his budget estimates for the 2025/2026 financial year, Mbadi cut money allocated to the Hustler Fund under Wycliffe Oparanya's Ministry of Cooperatives from Sh5 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year to a measly Sh300 million in 2025/2026 financial year. 

Coincidentally, or by design, the Social Health Authority (SHA) payments have been roped to the Hustler Fund. With a clientele of nine million borrowers, it will take more than a miracle for Mr Oparanya to make an impression. Thus suffocated, Oparanya has since surreptitiously kept out of public limelight.

Rather than bridge a budget deficit caused by the withdrawal of USAID funding in January this year, Mbadi slashed funding for the fight against HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria by Sh11.4 billion.

This has increased the health burden on many poor Kenyans at a time that SHA has disappointed a majority of people seeking outpatient services in public hospitals. As a result, more people will die and, no doubt, there will be an increase in fresh infections from these killer diseases. 

Contrary to ODM's 2022 campaign pledge to offer free education up to university, Mbadi is presiding over the ruination of Kenya’s education system, dismantling structures put in place by previous presidents to accord poor Kenyans a fair chance at education, the only equaliser in life.

Retrench lecturers

From reducing capitation from Sh22,224 per student to Sh16,900, and not remitting the funds in good time; re-introducing examination fees, intention to close satellite universities, abolish free primary education, reluctance to hire enough teachers, planning to retrench lecturers, not giving university students Higher Education Loans Board loans, Mbadi's policies reek of failure and incompetence.

While school heads grapple with hardships cast on them by the erratic disbursement of capitation, the government owed them Sh64 billion by February 2025. Mbadi, however, categorically said his ministry will not release the money, ostensibly because there is no legal framework for releasing delayed funds. Where did that money eventually go? A year down the line, hopefully, the Auditor General will let Kenyans know. 

Under Mbadi's watch in November last year, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) system was taken out for six days. Taken to task, he casually told a parliamentary committee that KRA didn't collect any money for those six days.

On average, KRA collects Sh3.5 billion in taxes daily. Failure to make collections in six days translates to a Sh21 billion loss. If Mbadi ever gave a follow up report after investigations, I missed it. What is not in doubt is that the money ended up somewhere, but, where?

Withdrawal of fuel and unga subsidies, increased taxation, revenue from the road and fuel taxes, the five per cent tax on deposits on bets and the fact that KRA exceeded its target by Sh8 billion in October last year, registering a 4.5 per cent growth after raising collection from Sh1.189 trillion in 2023/2024 to Sh1.243 trillion in 2024/2025, has saved the government lots of money. Why, Mr Mbadi, is the government misfiring on all cylinders?

Mbadi’s leadership misadventures at the Treasury have demonstrated that, indeed, ODM cannot offer better leadership than previous governments. Mbadi has only succeeded in ‘skunk-rising’ the Kenya Kwanza government.