2024 is coming to a close in a few days’ time. It was the year of high political drama in Kenya.
The political fallout in the Kenya Kwanza coalition between President William Ruto and his estranged deputy Rigathi Gachagua led to heightened tensions.
Amid growing rebellion from the Mount Kenya region, Ruto unveiled his scorecard.
In his speech during the 61st Jamhuri Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens, the President highlighted his achievements.
He enumerated the successes of his government against the promises he made during the campaigns.
Some opinion leaders and analysts still believe that the government has faltered and is moving in the wrong direction.
However, Ruto’s assertion and presentation of facts during the fete paints a different picture.
Maybe the government communication channels have not been effective. They seem to have allowed the antiestablishment media outlets to set the tone of government messaging.
It was therefore baffling that what the President presented was factually backed yet appeared starkly contradictory to public opinion.
The speech provided a rare opportunity for pessimists to critically assess the performance of the Kenya Kwanza regime on an objective platform.
The speech came hours after the sterling performance of the Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo in a live Citizen TV interview with Jeff Koinange.
During his campaigns, the head of state established the hustler movement to galvanise his support base.
The Kenya Kwanza coalition developed a manifesto that championed the bottom-up approach to economic recovery.
Through the BETA, the government launched several ambitious projects aimed at uplifting the lower economic cadres to levels of self-dependence and sustainability.
Many of these projects are grandiose and require colossal amounts of resources. This logically necessitated review of the tax system and regime.
It required major policy shifts in economic and government management. Some of these decisions have had negative effect and thereby attracting resistance.
A government that came into office as the panacea to the peasants suffering has faced the most violent protests in the history of the nation.
The protests were organised and led by those who could easily be described as the lumpen proletariat.
There has thus been a mismatch between what the government has delivered and what is felt or communicated on the ground.
Or there could have been outright sabotage of the government communication from within the government ranks.
Either way, Ruto’s presentation at the celebrations need consideration and evaluation.
The government established new models to revitalise key aspects of social service sectors. These include education, economic revitalisation, health and housing.
In education, the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform came up with a raft of changes in the management of education.
The changes focused more on the funding strategy to avoid unnecessary wastage.
The basic education model was retained more or less as it were save for increase in capitation. Heavy investment has been made in the infrastructure to accommodate the increase in numbers owing to CBC.
In September, the government set aside Sh7.5 billion to construct 16,000 additional classrooms.
The funds were complemental to the World Bank grant of 11 billion. This will ensure smooth transition from Grade 9 into the senior secondary school.
The classrooms will be ready by December 2024. The Ministry of Education has in addition recruited 56,000 teachers over the period to mitigate the high teacher-pupil ratios that have persisted over the years.
Teachers in senior secondary schools are being retooled to make them receptive and capacitated to deliver the CBC. The university and higher education has been put under a new funding model.
The model focuses on the student needs and course costs as opposed to the previous lump sum capitation. In the 2023-24 academic year, Sh12. 6 billion was disbursed to 113,075 university students for scholarships.
Further in September, the government released Sh14.4 billion to cover scholarships and loans for government-sponsored first year students in universities.
Earlier in August, the HELB had been allocated Sh5.1 billion for student loans while the Universities Fund Board received more than Sh2.8 billion. BETA envisioned a society where inequalities are eliminated.
It sought to target the lower economic cadres for uplifting through strategic investments.
The Hustler Fund has so far disbursed Sh60 billion since its inception. Beneficiaries have told stories of growth in their businesses and savings.
The government has established 14,000 Special Economic Zones, SEZs across the country to promote SMEs.
Deliberately, the government moved away from subsidising consumption. Instead it focused on supporting production by underwriting the cost of farm inputs.
This has led to the production of 96 million bags of maize making the perennial imports of the grains unnecessary. It has also seen the drastic reduction of maize meal from Sh250 to Sh120 at the supermarket shelves.
In spite of the many judicial hurdles that the government faced regarding the funding for the affordable housing programme, the implementation began in earnest.
Apart from delivering 1,200 units, the construction provides business opportunities in a ripple effect. Huge amounts of cement, ballast, sand and other building materials are routinely required.
Inputs such as timber for doors, glass for windows, plumbing and electrical fittings are in high demand from suppliers. The supply chain has created paths for startup businesses to thrive.
There are 124,000 units currently under construction. These provide avenues where young people with technical skills are employed. More than 200,000 jobs have been created under the affordable housing programme.
The income they gain from the work in these sites are essential for economic growth and reduction of inflation.
The government successfully reformed the inefficient NHIF and established the Social Health Authority. Since then 11 million Kenyans have registered under the Taifa Care health programme.
To the optimists, the government
must continue to deliver on its
campaign commitments and while
at it review its communication and
messaging strategy.
