It isn't every day you see a Cabinet Secretary dialing into a television station just to spar with a panelist over the price of unga. But on Tuesday, May 26, that's exactly what Treasury CS John Mbadi did. He crashed a live session on Citizen TV’s 'The Explainer' to defend the current state of the national wallet.
He'd been triggered by Wambui Mbarire, the CEO of the Retail Trade Association of Kenya (RETRAK). She'd boldly suggested on air that the average Kenyan lived much better under the leadership of former president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022. Mbadi wasn't having any of it. He called in to remind viewers that official economic data, according to him, paints a very different picture of that period.
"I was shocked to hear the assertion that life was cheaper in 2022," Mbadi said. He insisted that the economic indicators from two years ago were actually far grimmer than the present reality.
He pointed to the global supply chain disruptions that defined the tail end of the COVID-19 recovery as the real culprit for the high prices back then. He claimed that common household staples like sugar and fuel saw even more violent price spikes during the Kenyatta administration compared to the adjustments seen under the current Kenya Kwanza government. Mbadi even took his argument to the streets. He claimed that traders along Nairobi’s Moi Avenue confirmed to him that the current business climate, while tough, isn't as suffocating as the pandemic era.
Mbarire wasn't backing down from her position. She argued that the government's focusing on the wrong numbers, as the shelf price of goods is only half the story. The real problem is the 'take-home pay' crisis that's hit middle-class families in Nairobi and beyond.
She pointed directly to the legislative changes that have slashed monthly paychecks. New statutory deductions like the Housing Levy, increased contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), and the introduction of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) have left workers with less cash to actually spend. Even if commodity prices stabilize, she argued, the average worker is essentially poorer because their purchasing power has been eroded by these aggressive state collections.
Mbadi countered that disposable income can't be separated from the broader economic health of the nation. He admitted that the Kenya Kwanza administration’s new deductions have been a heavy lift for the public, but he argued they were a necessary evil. He painted a picture of a country that was staring down the barrel of a debt default when he took office. This left the state with only two painful options: stop paying the country's debts or find new ways to collect tax revenue.
Mbadi highlighted that the new SHIF contributions come with tax relief benefits that wouldn't have been available under standard income tax structures. He claimed the government is now pivoting its strategy. Instead of constantly looking for new taxes to impose, the Treasury is shifting focus toward widening the tax base. They're doing this by aggressively targeting tax evaders and bringing more individuals and businesses into the formal tax system.
This exchange highlights the deep frustration felt by many Kenyans who feel like they're being squeezed from every angle. The government maintains it's doing the heavy lifting to keep the country afloat. However, the reality for a resident trying to balance a budget in a city where the cost of matatu fare and basic groceries continues to climb is a different story. The clash between Mbadi and Mbarire is just the latest chapter in a long-standing debate about who exactly should bear the brunt of Kenya's economic recovery.