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HSN Twitter Coverage: President William Ruto Defends His Administration After 100 Days in Office

Staff Report

President William Ruto

Updated by Maurice O. Ndole | Publisher HSN and Steve Mokaya | HSN Chief Correspondent and the HSN team in Kenya

 

President William Ruto marked his 100 days in office on December 23rd. His administration has received mixed reviews. Some give him the benefit of the doubt, saying he needs more time to effect the changes he promised during the campaigns, while others are accusing him of breaking campaign promises, such as reducing the cost of living and, in particular, lowering the price of Unga (Maize flour).

His administration has also been accused of switching the goalposts on Kenyans and breaking the promise of providing interest-free Hustler Fund loans. Now borrowers have to pay an interest of 8 percent. Many have also slammed Ruto for the low amount of money given, calling it government-run Fuliza.

Fuliza is a small predatory loan given to Kenyans at a high-interest rate.

Ruto has also received a backlash for his cabinet appointments which appear to have heavily favored Rift Valley and Central Kenya regions, where he and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua hail. And there is a view that Ruto’s administration has entrenched political patronage and and undermined the judiciary by quashing corruption cases against his friends.

The Kenyan diaspora appears to have adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward the Ruto administration. Ruto’s move to dedicate a cabinet position to handle diaspora affairs is popular abroad. However, many are still confused about how the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs would serve them. So far, Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua’s tours in several countries, including the US, have focused on drumming support to increase remittances to Kenya and not service delivery to the diaspora.

But still, diasporas are hopeful and view false starts as teething problems, which would resolve soon as the new ministry takes shape and develops its policies.

There is growing anxiety in the country that life is getting harder, Youth leaders have decried the lack of jobs, and the cost of living is much higher than in the previous administration. Citizens are blaming the Ruto admin for ending subsidies that kept the cost of Unga and energy low.

Ruto has argued the subsidies were unsustainable and that the previous administration put them in place as a campaign gimmick to gain votes for Azimio la Umoja coalition.

Here’s our Twitter coverage of President Ruto’s interview.

 

 

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