President William Ruto will on Thursday make his third State of the Nation address to a joint sitting of Parliament at a time when his administration is grappling with numerous challenges.
The State of the Nation address is an obligation of the Constitution which requires him to update Parliament on three key issues, among them national security.
The President is also obligated to appraise the legislature on all the measures taken by his administration and the progress achieved in the realisation of the national values.
Article 132 of the Constitution requires the President to also once annually update the bicameral house on measures and progress made in fulfilling the international obligations of the republic.
Unlike his last two addresses, this year’s State of the Nation address comes at a time when his administration is under pressure over alleged state-sponsored abductions and messes in key sectors.
The Kenya Kwanza government has been accused of overseeing the collapse of the country’s health and education systems with Kenyans being forced to pay medical bills from their pockets.
The government’s signature Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), is reportedly dysfunctional despite assurance from state officers that the teething problems are being addressed.
Experts have termed the country’s shift from the legendary National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) as a total disaster that has negatively affected the provision of health services across all hospitals.
President Ruto has in the last few days had it rough when trying to explain that SHIF is working with the latest instances being some resistance from members of the public during church services.
Religious leaders are in a standoff with the Kenya Kwanza government over SHIF, with clerics blasting President Ruto’s administration over massive failures in the health sector.
The Catholic church and the Anglican Church in Kenya this week blasted the government, claiming it is perpetuating a culture of impunity and lies at the expense of Kenyans.
The clergy also called out the state over abductions, asking the government to respect human rights.
The bishops last week called out Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration for allegedly perpetuating a “culture of lies”, including failure to honour campaign pledges and imposing punitive and exploitative policies.
In a rare show of unity, ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit on Monday backed a recent statement from Catholic bishops, condemning what they describe as escalating misrule, impunity, and widespread rights violations.
Sapit urged the government to address pressing concerns from the controversial SHIF overhaul and inadequate education funding to the heavy tax burden squeezing ordinary Kenyans.
“We the ACK, fully support the Catholic bishops’ statement to the nation. We believe that the government is yet to turn around the country and steer it in the right direction,’’ he said.
President Ruto who is addressing the nation on Thursday is expected to address concerns around Shif and the university funding model as well as issues on the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
There have been claims of state-sponsored abductions and use of excessive force by police at a time when Ruto embraced the broad-based government in the aftermath of the Gen-Z protests in June and July.
Following waves of protests by the country’s angry young people who demanded radical and institutional reforms, the exact spot from where Ruto will address MPs was breached as protesters stormed Parliament.
The President is expected to defend his decision to form a broad-based government and the inclusion of opposition leaders in his Cabinet.
He is likely to underpin this on the push for national unity and fight against tribalism while reinforcing the fact that his administration has no room for tribal leaders.
His former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was removed from office by impeachment over tribalism claims.
He was swiftly replaced by Kithure Kindiki after MPs expedited the impeachment process and approval of Gachagua’s successor.
The atmosphere in Parliament could be a cocktail of critics and supporters, especially after the shifting of camps following Gachagua’s removal from office and the formation of the broad-based government.
It is not clear if Gachagua’s allies will snub the address on Thursday afternoon, but opposition MPs allied to ODM boss Raila Odinga will be at hand to fill the void should that happen.
In September last year when Ruto addressed Parliament opposition MPs then criticized Ruto’s speech as “hollow’’.
The Constitution requires the President to deliver his address once every year and may address Parliament at any other time.
In 2022, the President addressed the opening of the 13th Parliament by outlining his legislative agenda to actualise his Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (Beta).
Last year, Ruto enumerated the steps his administration had taken to address the three critical areas of national security, international obligations and realisation of national values.
In his address last September, the President stressed his pet subject, the Affordable Housing project.
He also discussed the transformation of the education sector, Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the digitisation of government services and the transformation of the security sector, among others.
“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,” Ruto said in his closing remarks.
The President is also expected to update MPs on the progress of the economy at a time when the government has claimed robust growth with the lowest inflation rates ever.
“This is the lowest inflation rate since 2007, during President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure, and aligns with the target set in the Kenya Kwanza manifesto,” State House said in a Cabinet dispatch last Thursday.
Ruto’s government has also come under sharp criticism over cases of abductions and clamping down on free speech, with the oversight role appearing to remain a preserve of the activists, civil societies and some sections of the public.
