NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 10 – Deputy President William Ruto has said Kenyans have lost confidence in the Opposition.
He said when its leaders had a chance to drive the Government agenda, they demonstrated beyond doubt that they had no capacity, will or plan to move the country forward.
Ruto said Kenyans will not forgive Opposition leaders for derailing the Big Four agenda that sought to transform the lives of millions of ordinary Kenyans.
“How, then, do you expect Kenyans to believe that you will implement what you are promising now?” he wondered.
The Deputy President said the Opposition stood no chance in leading the country since they do not have any development track-records to boast of despite serving in Government for several years.
Ruto said Opposition leaders had squandered the opportunity to showcase their capacity as leaders in both the previous governments they served and the current one they joined after the Handshake.
He said: “Kenyans are going to judge all of us on the basis of our track records, our commitment and what we can do given an opportunity.”
The Deputy President spoke today at his Karen Residence during a meeting with religious and grassroots leaders from Nguu/Masumba Ward in Makueni County ahead of the October 14 by-election.
Present were MPs Nimrod Mbai, Victor Munyaka, Vincent Musau, Kimani Ichung’wah, former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, former Kilome MP Regina Ndambuki and former Cabinet Minister Gideon Ndambuki.
The Deputy President said he was focused on bringing leaders together to help him implement the bottom-up economic model that will address the immediate needs of ordinary citizens.
“We want to eliminate the notion that the needs of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid are inferior to those at the top,” he said.
Ruto asked his critics not to be consumed by the simplicity of the wheelbarrow saying it represented a comprehensive economic model dubbed bottom-up.
He said the wheelbarrow was a party symbol just like other political parties that have oranges, for example, as their party symbol.
He said: “You can as well, tell us the complexity of the orange if you wish instead of being obsessed with the simplicity of the wheelbarrow.”
Ruto said the wheelbarrow symbolised the intention of the hustler nation formation of prioritizing the needs of those Kenyans at the very bottom of the economic pyramid, unlike the trickle-down model that prioritises those at the top.
Ichung’wah said opposition leaders were intentionally fighting the bottom-up economic model for the same reason they sabotaged the Big Four development agenda.
The Kikuyu legislator said opposition leaders derailed the Big Four agenda anchored on the bottom-up economic model because they are believers of the trickle-down economic model.
He said: “They deliberately sabotaged the Big Four development agenda because it was going to empower the masses.”
Ichung’wah said Dr Ruto was the only presidential candidate with a solid development track record and a clear vision for the country.
His sentiments were echoed by Muthama who said he cannot compare Ruto to other leaders he has worked and supported in previous elections citing opposition leader Raila Odinga and former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka.
He said: “I have supported many candidates before but it is only Dr Ruto who has a convincing plan and vision of where he wants to take this country.”
Mbai asked Ukambani residents to join the hustler movement that he said has a plan to eradicate poverty and unemployment in the country.
He said: “Let us embrace the bottom-up economic model because that is how we will grow the economy and stop relying on formal employment and earning small salaries.”
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