Ruto Pledges to Introduce Diaspora Bond for Kenyans Abroad to Lend to the Government

Deputy President William Ruto has continued to woo Kenyans in the diaspora to back his quest for the presidency.

At a meeting with a group of Kenyans living in the UK, Ruto pledged that if elected president, he will introduce a ‘diaspora bond’ that will enable Kenyans abroad to lend money to the government at an interest rate of seven percent.

Through the fund, Ruto says, Kenyans in the diaspora will get a return on investment while the government will be able to finance its development activities.

“We will make it possible so that instead of keeping money at the bank here (abroad) and getting zero interest, we can give you seven percent interest at home by having a diaspora bond where you can put your money, you will help the government with money to run programs,” said Ruto.

The deputy president further pointed out that ordinary Kenyans do not majorly benefit directly from government lending since they receive between one and two percent return from banks, who in turn lend to the government at eight percent.

“Fifty percent of borrowing is local, the biggest beneficiaries are Kenyan banks- almost eighty percent who make billions of shillings we will organize so that ordinary people are benefitting,” he added.

At the same time, Ruto stated that his administration would adjust contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) from the current Sh200 and set a standard where all Kenyans will contribute five percent of their income.

He argued that the fund savings will be huge enough to hold resources that the government can use to finance development projects with ease.

“We will make sure the law is changed within the first 100 days to ensure that even if we agree to 5 percent for everyone’s salary to be saved,” he noted.

“The money we are borrowing is savings for other countries and we are paying with interest, we are borrowing everyone’s money except ours. we must be able to build a huge fund for us to be able to borrow and finance our activities.”

Ruto, who is on a three-day tour of the UK, was speaking at the Holiday Inn Hotel in London, where he held a meeting with supporters of his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party in the UK.