President William Ruto has revealed how he has been forced to make difficult and unpopular decisions to rescue the country from economic ruin and set it on the path to rapid development.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday when delivering his inaugural State of the Nation Address, Ruto articulated the tough interventions his administration has undertaken to turn around the economy.
“We have had to take hard decisions and make painful choices because we owe it to Kenyans to do the right thing and confront facts as they are without flinching or equivocating,” he said on Thursday.
The President said he has been forced to cut wasteful but luxurious government expenditures and stop subsidies on crucial commodities.
Ruto's administration has been under fire for scrapping subsidies on crucial consumables including fuel, triggering an immediate price surge.
The Kenya Kwanza administration also ended the subsidy on maize flour and instead opted to subsidise production.
The regime has been on the spot for raiding the pockets of the working class through introduction of a raft of taxes, including 1.5 per cent Housing Levy.
“The time has come, therefore, to retire the false comforts and illusory benefits of wasteful expenditure and counterproductive subsidies on consumption by which we dug ourselves deeper into the hole of avoidable debt,” he said.
The Head of State added, “The new direction may not be easy, but it is ethical, responsible, prudent and, most importantly, necessary.”
Ruto stated that the tough decisions, coupled with the targeted interventions in agriculture, health, education and security among other crucial sectors, have set the country on the path to accelerated growth.
“We have laid a firm foundation for rapid development, and Kenya is no longer 'on your marks'. The state of our nation at this moment in time is Prepared and Ready to Go,” the President said.
“I am persuaded we shall achieve transformation beyond our wildest dreams within this generation,” he added.
The President disclosed how his government’s move to subsidise fertiliser has seen the price of a 2kg of unga drop to Sh145 from Sh250.
Under the subsidy, the cost of 50kg of fertiliser dropped to Sh2,500 from Sh6,500.
This, he said, has greatly helped reduce the cost of living.
“A gorogoro [2kg tin] of maize is selling at between Sh60 and Sh70. I am committed to put the shame of hunger behind us once and for all,” he said.
The government, he said, has established 22 new fish landing sites in nine counties in Nyanza and Coast and organised beach management units into cooperatives to boost fish farming.
“Our farmers are the best people to speak about the success of the fertiliser programme. Yesterday, I spoke to several farmers in different parts of the country. Ms Alice Nato of Bungoma, a single mother, told me that the Sh2,500 fertilisers had doubled the yield on her farm from 52 bags of maize last year to 120 bags this year," Ruto said.
The President said his administration has revamped the coffee sector and boosted the earnings of farmers from a low of Sh20 to Sh80. Currently, the state is restructuring sugar mills.
On the huge national debt, the President stated that he has worked hard, at home and further abroad, to mobilise a broad coalition of bilateral development partners, multilateral development banks and other agencies.
The agencies have rallied to pull the country back from the brink of debt distress and set Kenya firmly on the path towards sustainable economic growth.
“Our efforts to stabilise the situation have yielded such progress that next month, in December, we will be able to settle the first $300 million instalment of the $2 billion Eurobond debt that falls due next year,” he said.
“I can now state with confidence that we will and shall pay the debt that has become a source of much concern to citizens, markets and partners.”
The President made a case for the ongoing bipartisan dialogue between his camp and the opposition, saying the talks have provided peace for accelerated development.
“I salute the courage and patriotism of my fellow leaders who have embraced national dialogue and encourage all of us to keep up the noble work of bringing Kenyans together,” he said.
The President outlined how the Hustler Fund has ensured financial inclusion through provision of affordable credit and mobilising savings for individuals and small businesses.
“By the end of last month, the fund had disbursed Sh36.6 billion, with Sh2.3 billion in savings and 7.5 million repeat borrowers whose overall repayment rate is at an impressive 73 per cent,” he said.
Ruto disclosed that his administration has transformed the social security architecture, with focus set on savings and social security space.
"As a result of our initial interventions, the savings situation in Kenya is changing for the better. Contributions to the NSSF have grown to Sh6.5 billion from Sh1.4 billion monthly," he said.
In the affordable housing agenda, Ruto said the construction of 46,792 units in various parts of the country is underway, while another 40,000 are ready to commence construction.
Some 50,000 Kenyans have been directly employed in the projects. A total of 746,795 housing units are in the pipeline, undergoing various stages of delivery.
“More jobs are being created with the formalisation of the Jua Kali clusters, providing products like doors, hinges and windows,” he said.
The President emphasised reforms his administration has achieved in education.
The government has employed 56,750 new teachers and trained 8,200 primary school teachers.
The President also made a case for the new university funding formula, which he said is student-oriented and will rid the public universities of the more than Sh60 billion debt.
On health, Ruto stated the country is on the path to the full realisation of the universal health care coverage following the enactment of four crucial laws.
“Together with all the 47 counties, we have deployed 100,000 community health promoters fully equipped with the necessary kits and an electronic community health information system. In the last one month, CHPs have attended to 1.2 million households,” he said.
The government has digitised services and rolled out 100,000km of last-mile fibre optic connectivity to make reliable high-speed Internet available throughout the country, along with 25,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots in all market centres and 1,450 ICT hubs in every ward.
The President implored Parliament to finalise the consideration of the Assets Declaration and Conflict of Interest Bill to further tighten the anti-corruption policy framework, and eliminate space for misbehaviour.
“Corruption, wastage, inefficiency and negligence are serious threats to our transformation agenda, and unacceptable practices that have no place in our nation. I have given my firm assurance to the people of Kenya that cases of misconduct and corruption shall be dealt with ruthlessly, with finality and expeditiously,” he said.
The Head of State disclosed security interventions that have seen the country secure, including the volatile North Rift that has been ruled by bandits for decades.