Youth drawn from the Green Thinking Action Party (GTAP) have written to President William Ruto asking him to, among other things, conduct a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle and get rid of cabinet secretaries whom the public has lost faith in to regain trust with Gen Zs and Majority of Kenyans.
Besides changes in the cabinet, the group listed revision of controversial policies, implementation of advanced transparency mechanisms, initiation of genuine national dialogues, strengthening of judicial independence and institutional reforms, the launch of targeted economic reforms, the establishment of public accountability initiatives as well as promotion of cultural change within government as some of the issues that need urgent attention given the current state of affairs in the country
“In an era demanding unparalleled transparency and accountability, we, the youth of the Green Thinking Action Party (GTAP), present the Gen Z Accountability Checklist. Developed through extensive consultations among our peers who form the majority of our membership, this checklist embodies our collective vision for a fair and sustainable Kenya. It is a call to action for our government to realize the aspirations of its youth,” GTAP youth noted in their memo
Their checklist outlined issues that constitute direct responses to immediate concerns. They include confirmation of cancellation of proposed tax increases on essential goods and services, reduction of salaries of high-earning government officials by 20%, and elimination of non-essential government positions.
They also want a reduction of wasteful government spending. To do this, they asked the government to publish a comprehensive annual report on government expenditures, enforce a policy to limit official travel and hospitality expenses, and implement budget cuts to reduce non-essential government spending by 30%.
They also called for an increased allocation for public healthcare and education by at least 15%, reinstatement and expansion of the national school feeding program, and the recruitment of an additional 10,000 teachers and healthcare professionals.
And that’s not all, the group is advising the government to embrace transparent and timely communication. It says this can be achieved through the establishment of a government accountability office, and implementation of a public progress tracking system for all government projects.
They also recommend monthly public Q&A sessions with key government officials, a formula to track promises made as well as regular publication of independent audit reports on government spending.
