Lawyer Willis Otieno speaks during a public event on August 13, 2025. PHOTO/https://www.facebook.com/Otienowill
Human rights and Constitutional lawyer Willis Otieno has criticised the government’s fiscal policies, calling out the country’s disproportionate public wage bill as a major obstacle to development.
His remarks come on the heels of President William Ruto’s pledge to transform Kenya into a first-world nation.
“Kenya, unlike countries we love to name-drop like Singapore, South Korea, or Malaysia, is failing to prioritise infrastructure, innovation, and industrial growth,” Otieno wrote on X on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.
He pointed out that in these successful nations, taxes are reinvested into critical sectors, and public wage bills consume less than 30 per cent of revenue.
“In contrast, Kenya’s public wage bill gobbles up a staggering 50% of national tax revenues, leaving little room for investments that could drive the nation forward,” the X post read.
Otieno explained that Kenya’s bureaucracy, though only 1.8 per cent of the population or roughly 1 million state workers, drains resources that should instead support the 98 per cent of Kenyans who need better services.
“The roads, schools, hospitals, and industries that should uplift the majority remain starved of funding,” he said.
He also warned that while Kenyans continue to work hard and pay taxes, the elite enjoy luxury, leaving the rest of the population to drown in debt.
The Safina Party Deputy Party leader underscored a growing concern that Kenya’s economic growth is being hampered by a bloated public sector, with the needs of the majority side-lined.
The Ruto’s promise
Ruto expressed his strong commitment to transforming Kenya’s housing sector and tackling urban poverty, promising to go out of his way to ensure the country catches up with rapidly developed nations like Singapore.
Speaking during his recent address to the media on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Ruto drew a direct comparison between Kenya and Singapore, noting that the Southeast Asian nation was at a similar development level to Kenya six decades ago but has since leapfrogged into global economic prominence.
“This housing, we must do it,” Ruto emphasised, underlining the urgency of his government’s affordable housing agenda. “Imagine Singapore was like Kenya 60 years ago. Today in Singapore, 95 per cent of the people are homeowners. In Kenya, it is the opposite.
“Seven million people are living in slums, but we are going to change this country. Believe you me, we have what it takes as a nation. There is no reason why we cannot catch up with Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea. There is no reason. And I am going to go out of my way to make sure we catch up with Singapore.” By