Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has responded to critics questioning the opposition’s policy agenda, declaring that their plan is straightforward.

He says the plan is to remove the current government and restore meritocracy in Kenya’s public institutions.

Speaking in the Senate, Sifuna addressed the ongoing debate over teacher employment and public spending, criticising what he called excessive government expenditure while essential services face funding shortages.

“We have been having a back and forth between people who say, oh, the opposition has no plan, and those of us who believe that our entire plan is in the Kenyan constitution. We want to return this country back to meritocracy, Honorable Speaker, in the hiring of teachers, public servants, in their promotion,” he said.

Sifuna questioned the government’s claim that there is no budget to hire graduate teachers while simultaneously spending lavishly in other areas.

“You wake up in the morning, Honorable Speaker, you pick up your newspaper, you look at the budgets that have been appropriated to State House or the money that has been spent on hospitality. We are being told by the Controller of Budget, 12 billion shillings, Honorable Speaker, twice what was spent last time,” he stated.

He also raised concerns about the cost of foreign delegations, citing figures he described as deeply troubling.

“China, you see delegations there, Honorable Speaker, 40 billion shillings. These are figures that are unconscionable in a country where we are told there is no money for capitation, there is no money for healthcare,” he said.

Sifuna also raised the issue of alleged corruption in teacher employment, calling on a senior leader who had publicly claimed that Teachers Service Commission employment letters were routinely sold by MPs for as much as Ksh 400,000 to appear before the relevant Senate committee and explain how such a system operates.

He concluded with a direct response to those seeking clarity on the opposition’s plan.

“Those of you who ask us for a plan, our plan is to send you home, return this country back to meritocracy, ensure that people who are qualified for public office can be hired through a system that is transparent and fair, promotions are fair, not who you know or who you don’t know, Honorable Speaker,” he said.

Sifuna added that in the first hundred days after the current government is removed from power, the opposition would move to cut wasteful spending at State House and other public institutions in order to fund teacher employment and healthcare.

“I believe that in the first hundred days after we kick this government out, we should be able to cut out the fat that is being utilised at State House and other public institutions so that we can pay our teachers, we can employ our teachers and fund healthcare in this country,” he said.