NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 17 — President-Elect William Ruto faces a challenging task to implement his ‘bottom-up’ manifesto which promised upward mobility and reduction in the cost of living as he readies his administration with inflation rate standing at an all-time high and the country starring at a debt distress.
Kenya’s public debt is currently at Sh8.6 trillion, nearly double from Sh4.4 trillion at the beginning of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term.
The country’s inflation on the other hand stood at an all-time high of 8.3 percent in July on the back of costly food and fuel.
Ruto, 55, was on Monday officially declared the winner of the closely contested presidential election ahead of 77-year-old Raila Odinga.
In his first 100 days, he pledged to bring down the cost of living prioritizing investments in agriculture to increase food production locally and reduce the country’s dependence on expensive food imports.
“The challenge of the high cost of living can be dealt with by investing in agriculture, period. Explanations about Ukraine, I don’t know what, are tall tales,” Ruto said during his manifesto unveiling.
With the huge task ahead, Ruto’s ascendancy to office however faces uncertainty after Odinga on Tuesday rejected the election results and vowed to pursue legal means to compel the Courts to annul them.
Odinga is banking on the dissent of four Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners who rejected the election results announced by Commission Chairperson Wafula Chebukati.
The dispute means Kenyans might have to wait longer before a new president is sworn in against the backdrop of soaring food prices and high levels of public debt.
If Ruto is finally sworn in as President he will face the task of implementing his bottom-up manifesto with an emphasis on tackling the economic issues facing Kenyans.
To economically empower low-income groups(hustlers) as he calls them, Ruto promised to provide Sh50billion per year to fund small businesses and start-ups.
“We will establish MSME business development centres in every ward, and an industrial park and business incubation centre in every TVET institution,” Ruto’s manifesto read.
He also promised to rein in public debt, which has more than tripled by Sh7 trillion shillings since outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta assumed office in 2013, pushing against the debt ceiling.
Ruto further promised to end what he terms “state capture” by establishing, within 30 days of his ascension to power, a quasi-judicial public inquiry to “unravel” the extent of alleged cronyism and make recommendations.
To ensure self-sufficiency in food production, Ruto promised to make available affordable fertilisers, quality seeds as well as farm equipment, and ensure access to loans by investing at least Sh250 billion in the agricultural sector over the next five years.
Ruto said he would also reverse legal and administrative changes over the use of the standard gauge railway (SGR) — a pet project of President Kenyatta’s administration.
“It was never the intention of the government to build the SGR so that the coastal people can be impoverished. The SGR was meant to make the port much more efficient and to improve the business and the fortunes of the Coastal people,” he said ahead of the polls.
Ruto said earlier he will scale back spending on mega roads, rail and energy projects, rein in debt and pump more money into small businesses.
