My friend’s main beef and puzzlement is why the President is not fixated on reviving the economy.
He expressed dismay that Ruto has not fully stabilised the boat after the initial tumultuous beginning of his presidency, with Azimio la Umoja breathing heavily down on his neck.
“If I were the President, I would focus like a razor on meeting the needs of those who propelled me to power,” the strong Ruto supporter told me.
He was referring to hoi polloi that became the cornerstone of Ruto’s presidential campaign and ultimate ascension to the presidency.
The UDA diehard says the President is, instead, preoccupied with too many things that are clouding his young presidency with no tangible results that positively impact the mama mbogas and boda boda riders to use the 2022 political parlance.
This is not an isolated sentiment. Those with the means to withstand any economic situation in the country are worried sick that things can turn upside down anytime and anyone knows even the rich can’t have a life to live if things go out of control and we have no country to speak of.
The poor and barely surviving are only one step closer to real hell.
The question is, what is the President doing to address the worsening the economic situation in the country? In all press appearances and public speeches, he has assured Kenyans he is busy at work trying to find solutions.
That’s all well and good but, when you hear even his own strong supporters expressing concern things are not going in the right direction, the President must go back to the drawing board and re-examine his strategy on the way out of this great uncertainty.
There are many things Ruto can do to immediately have an impact.
Judging from the President’s actions and utterances from members of his Cabinet, stabilising the government and bolstering prospects for his re-election in 2027 seems to be the priority.
Also, if Ruto delivers on even a fraction of his campaign promises that readily and immediately have a direct impact on the poor and the struggling in a positive manner, 2027 will take care of itself with some nudging by the President and his team.
The President and his advisers point to the Finance Bill 2023 as the blueprint for implementing his economic vision to deliver on some, if not many of his campaign promises. But the Bill is already quickly turning into a noose to hang his dreams.
For example, the proposed housing levy in the Bill has been met with opposition and rejection akin to what the Building Bridges Initiative faced before being sent to its deathbed.
Truth is, both the housing levy and BBI are independently noble proposals.
The trouble for the President, just as was the case with his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta with BBI, is that the timing is wrong. Whether the levy is a tax or not—and it is not, is irrelevant.
What is relevant is what can ease the cost of living and immediately put affordable food on the table today.
