Ruto: With economy stabilising, Kenya must now ‘reach for excellence’

President William Ruto during the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on November 20, 2025./PCS

President William Ruto on Thursday said Kenya has made “commendable progress” over the past three years but is still performing “below its true weight,” urging the country to abandon what he called a culture of “small thinking and ordinary expectations.”

Delivering his State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday, Ruto said he was shifting from “a vision to sell” to “a story to tell,” reflecting on Kenya’s 62-year journey of “struggles, hardships, triumphs and milestones.”

“I reflected deeply on the long road we have travelled as a nation,” he said. “From this reflection came one truth: we have made commendable progress, but Kenya is still below its true weight.”

The president called for a new national mindset anchored on ambition and courage, saying it was time to push beyond mediocrity.

“We must cast off the prevailing mindset of being content with the average,” he told lawmakers.

“We must step beyond the comfort of the familiar and the ordinary, and reach—with courage, clarity and conviction—for nothing less than excellence and greatness.”

Ruto acknowledged the turbulence of the past three years, marked by political disagreements, compromises, and what he described as “storms that none of us invited.” He said, despite the difficulties, the country had laid the foundations for economic recovery.

“The last three years have not been easy,” he said.

“We have agreed and disagreed. We have compromised and endured storms… but we take comfort that it has not been for nothing, for this is how far we have come.”

Ruto painted a dire picture of the economy he inherited in 2022, saying Kenya was “in distress,” with inflation in double digits, a weakening shilling, and foreign exchange reserves at historic lows.

“In 2022, inflation had soared. The shilling was in free fall and foreign reserves had hit historic lows,” he said.

The president said his administration had taken “bold and sometimes difficult decisions,” including ending what he called wasteful subsidies and tightening revenue collection.

“We acted,” he said. “We limited wasteful subsidies, strengthened revenue collection, and placed our economy on the path to recovery.”

Ruto noted that inflation had “steadily declined to 4.2 per cent,” which he described as evidence that “the tough choices are working.”

The president said he would soon unveil what he called a “realistic national project” aimed at sustaining the country’s economic momentum and positioning Kenya for long-term growth.

“Our ambition was held hostage by small thinking,” he said. “That era must be in the past