Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho counters DP William Ruto's Sh100 million offer with Sh300 Billion

The contest toward succeeding President Uhuru Kenyatta seems to be getting hotter everyday.

With Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho having recently declared his intention to vie for the presidency come 2022, the electorate is spoilt for choice over who to side with.

Governor Joho on Tuesday took his presidential bid a notch higher by offering voters his first proposed policy change.

In a highly-charged rally at Frere Town Grounds, the Governor countered Deputy President William Ruto's Sh100 million "hustler fund" with a similar initiative pegged at Sh300 billion.

In a recent rally in Mtwapa, Mombasa County, DP Ruto had promised Sh100 million to every constituency as a fund for small traders should he be elected president come 2022.

Announcing his counter offer, Governor Joho stated that he would chip off 10 per cent of the country's budget to fund women and the youth in business.

"The country’s annual budget is about Sh3 trillion and I will ensure not less than 10 percent of that budget will go to supporting small businesses for women and youth in the grassroots.

"One percent or 2 percent allocation can’t solve our poverty problems. Youth and women should be empowered so that we can end the unemployment problem we are having as a country," he stated.