Ruto: Much remains to be done but there's hope

President William Ruto on Thursday held his second State of the Nation Address, coming against a backdrop of pressing concerns raised by Kenyans in the recent months.

The President noted that since his last address, Kenya has undergone rapid change occasioned by the collective awakening of the people.

“To my understanding, the concerns and issues voiced by millions of Kenyans about the state of our nation deserve meaningful engagement, thorough understanding, and thoughtful response,” he stated.

He noted that there are discussions about whether leaders understand the pain, hardship, and struggles endured by countless citizens every day as they strive to make ends meet and whether the government is doing anything about it.

Ruto admitted there remains much to fulfil but maintained that there is hope to deliver the national economic transformation that the nation deserves.

He declared that the country has made undeniable progress in building on the strong foundation laid in previous years and getting the national development project off the ground.

Ruto noted that in 2022, the country's total debt burden was not only immense, but it was also stacked up in a most burdensome manner, leaving little to no room for investment in public services or the development of critical infrastructure.

He said Kenya faced a crossroads of extremely difficult choices, where defaulting on financial obligations would have significantly worsened an already perilous situation and more borrowing was out of the question.

“It was therefore essential for us to drastically reduce expenditure, mobilise as much resources domestically as possible, and curtail waste,” he said.

He reported that all macro-economic indicators point to a positive turnaround and an upward trajectory.

He said the shilling has stabilised significantly, appreciating from Sh162 to the dollar in February 2024, to Sh129 today, a remarkable gain of 20 per cent.

“This recovery has restored confidence in our financial markets and significantly reduced the cost of servicing external debt, creating vital fiscal space for our development imperatives,” he said.

He added that inflation has declined dramatically from 9.6 per cent in September 2022 to 2.7 per cent in October 2024, the lowest rate in 17 years.

The President noted that the foreign exchange reserves have surged by US$2.4 billion to hit a record US$9.5 billion, providing 4.8 months of import cover, the highest in 10 years.

“The economy continues to grow steadily, recording a 5.6 per cent growth rate in 2023, among the highest globally. We project five per cent growth this year and 5.6 per cent in 2025,” he added.

He noted that since February, the government has distributed subsidsed fertiliser to 6.45 million registered farmers in 45 counties, enabling them to increase their yields

He further noted that this year, the government has procured and through e-vouchers, distributed seven million bags of both planting and top dressing fertiliser to boost food production across the country.

“This intervention will see a projected increase in maize production to a record of 74 million 90 kilogramme bags,” he stated.

Ruto added that by 2022, the education sector was in crisis, with a lack of clarity in the transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), a shortage of 110,000 teachers, and 23 out of 40 public universities were technically bankrupt and at risk of closure.

“To address the issues in our education sector, we have already hired 56,000 teachers and are in the process of recruiting another 20,000 by January 2025,” he said.

He noted that counties have struggled with shortages of medicine, equipment, and staff, hindering service delivery and leaving countless Kenyans with suboptimal access to healthcare.

He said the government has launched an ambitious healthcare programme, one that Kenya has always needed and deserved.

“Like any major transition, there are challenges, but we are fully committed to making the system work.”

“For the first time in our nation’s history, free primary healthcare is increasingly becoming available at dispensaries, health centres and hospitals,” he said.

Ruto added that after two years of hard work under the affordable housing programme, he is set to announce the launch of the sale of 4,888 housing units now in completion across 21 social housing projects.

He further pointed out that since July 2023, the government has successfully facilitated employment for 105,367 Kenyans across multiple countries in a wide range of jobs.

Ruto further maintained forced disappearances and abductions have no place in Kenya.

He urged Kenyans with information of such cases to inform the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) where they suspect police to be involved