A senior Safina Party leader has called for a shift in how Kenya measures progress, arguing that real development should be judged by the impact on citizens’ daily lives rather than economic figures such as debt levels or fiscal performance.
Speaking through his X account on Thursday, Willis Otieno said the country must move away from elite-centred politics and focus on economic freedom, accountability, and systems that deliver jobs, better services, and reduced inequality.
He argued that traditional economic indicators often fail to capture whether ordinary citizens are actually benefiting from national resources, insisting that progress must be visible in people’s lived reality.
“True success is not defined by how much a country borrows or how efficiently it services its debt. It is defined by how effectively those resources are translated into tangible, visible, and sustained improvements in the lives of its people,” he stated.
His remarks come against the backdrop of rising public debt in Kenya, which he linked to growing pressure on public finances and the cost of servicing loans.
As of May 2026, total public debt stood at about Sh13.02 trillion, equivalent to around 71.6 percent of GDP, up from Sh11.8 trillion in 2025.
Debt servicing also remains a major burden on the economy, with about Sh1.72 trillion spent in the 2024/25 financial year, representing nearly 69 percent of ordinary revenue. A large share of this is driven by commercial borrowing, which has increased repayment pressure on the government.
Safina Party maintained that such figures alone do not reflect real progress if they are not matched by improvements in employment, incomes, public services, and opportunities for citizens.
“Economic indicators may satisfy technical benchmarks, but they are meaningless if they do not reflect themselves in jobs created, incomes strengthened, services improved, and opportunities expanded for ordinary citizens,” he highlighted.
Otieno warned that when financial performance at the national level does not match the lived experience of citizens, inequality is likely to deepen and public frustration may grow.
“A nation cannot claim progress when financial flows are active at the top while hardship deepens at the base. Development must be measurable in lived reality, not just in fiscal reports or balance sheets,” outlined.
He further argued that unless a balance is created between borrowing and real transformation, calls for accountability and fairness in the management of public resources will continue to intensify.
“Until this balance is restored between borrowing and transformation, between expenditure and impact the demand for economic justice, transparency, and full accountability will remain not only valid but non-negotiable,” he said, adding that people must remain at the centre of policy decisions.
He described Kenya as being at a critical turning point, where political systems have often prioritised power-sharing and elite negotiations over meaningful change for citizens.
“Kenya is standing at a crossroads. For too long, politics has been reduced to positions, alliances, and elite arrangements that rarely translate into meaningful change for ordinary citizens,” he expressed.
He added that challenges such as unemployment, rising living costs, weak public services, and widening inequality point to deeper structural problems that require urgent attention.
“We believe leadership must be judged not by how well it negotiates power, but by how effectively it expands opportunity for the people,” he said, outlining what he described as the Safina Party’s “3rd Liberation: Economic Freedom.”
According to him, this vision places emphasis on productivity, fairness, and equal opportunity while moving away from politics driven by elite bargaining.
He stressed that leadership should be measured by service delivery and clear improvements in livelihoods rather than political loyalty or historical influence.
Otieno also said the party’s political direction is grounded in the realities faced by citizens rather than competition among political elites.
“Our politics is rooted in the people; their daily struggles, their economic realities, their access to opportunity, and their right to dignity in both work and governance,” he added.
He concluded by reaffirming the party’s focus on ordinary citizens, saying: “We remain firm: not against individuals, but firmly for the people.”