Deputy President Kithure Kindiki says President William Ruto’s development record will be central to his re-election campaign, urging Kenyans to judge the administration on its achievements rather than what he called hostile opposition rhetoric.
Kindiki said the Kenya Kwanza government had exceeded expectations in implementing projects and programmes aimed at strengthening the economy and improving livelihoods, as the administration marks four years since Ruto was sworn in on September 13, 2022.
He accused Ruto’s opponents of relying on anger and personal attacks instead of presenting alternative policies for addressing the challenges facing Kenyans.
“When you ask them to table alternative policies and development programmes, they tell you Kasongo must go,” Kindiki said.
“When you ask them what plans they have to help millions of young people across the country looking for jobs, they say soprano and other useless things. How can such people be trusted with the leadership of our country?”
Kindiki said the administration had defied predictions that it would collapse within six months under the weight of public debt and economic pressures.
He pointed to the stability of the shilling, saying it was trading at about Sh129 to the dollar compared with Sh165 in 2022.
“We are on course and there is no turning back,” he said.
On agriculture, Kindiki said the government's decision to subsidise production rather than consumption had reduced input costs and improved earnings for farmers.
“Fertiliser costed 7,000 shillings a bag in 2022, today it is 2,000 shillings,” he said, adding that certified seed prices had fallen by 50%.
He also cited higher coffee and milk prices, saying coffee had risen from Sh50 to Sh140 per kilogramme while milk had increased from Sh35 to Sh52 per litre.
In education, Kindiki said government spending had risen from Sh500 billion in 2022 to Sh784 billion, while 100,000 teachers had been hired and 23,000 classrooms and 1,600 laboratories built.
He said tertiary education enrolment had also risen from 297,000 students in 2022 to 718,000.
On healthcare, Kindiki defended the Social Health Authority (SHA), which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund, against opposition calls to scrap it.
“They are not telling us why a system that has 32 million people on board is bad and why NHIF that had only 8 million Kenyans enlisted is better,” he said.
“Politicising health is dangerous. It is irresponsible. It is uncaring and unpatriotic.”
Kindiki said the government's record would provide the basis for Ruto's campaign as he seeks a second term in the 2027 election.