Political commentator Abdullahi Alas has criticized President William Ruto's leadership style, arguing that the administration places greater emphasis on political messaging than evidence-based governance while failing to address Kenya's worsening economic and social challenges.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Monday, Alas said the government should shift its focus from campaign rhetoric to practical solutions rooted in data, institutional reforms and industrialization, warning that corruption, public debt and youth unemployment continue to weigh heavily on ordinary Kenyans.
"Winning an election, you need sloganism, border border, hustlers, hustle," he said. "For me, whether you hustle or whether you grind, that's not a policy."
Alas questioned whether the government is adequately using technical expertise available within the public service, saying effective governance requires delegation and evidence-based decision-making rather than constant political messaging by senior leaders.
"When you are running a government, it doesn't end up in you. They have a team - 10 Cabinet ministers, over 40 permanent secretaries, an entire government," he said. "Our president needs to sit down. Silence is communication. When you talk too much, it's either you are hiding something or you are just talking for the sake because you are the president."
He argued that four years after the 2022 General Election, Kenyans deserve a comprehensive account of what the administration has achieved before new long-term development plans are unveiled.
"We want to know what we did in the last four years first. Then whatever we did in the last four years in relation to 2030, what percentage have we moved?" he said.
Alas also raised concerns about the country's growing debt burden, arguing that government borrowing is crowding out private businesses by making lending to the state more attractive for commercial banks than financing entrepreneurs.
He said corruption remains one of Kenya's biggest obstacles to development, claiming that billions of shillings are lost annually through graft, procurement irregularities and nepotism.
"How do you tell us we are going to borrow money when we are losing 600 to 800 billion per year on corruption, pilferage, looting, overpricing and nepotism? So we have a problem," he said.
The political commentator further urged the government to rely on official statistics and strengthen constitutional institutions rather than dismissing reports highlighting governance failures.
"When I consume data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank, Treasury and the Controller of Budget, these are constitutional offices mandated to do their work," he said. "Audit is audit. It shows us what is wrong or what is right."
Alas also called for greater investment in industrialization, arguing that Kenya should build value-addition industries based on local resources instead of relying heavily on imports.
"I wish the madness of infrastructure would have gone to the madness of industrialization," he said, suggesting that counties such as Mandera, Wajir and Turkana have untapped potential for manufacturing and agro-processing.
He maintained that Kenya possesses the talent and resources needed to transform its economy but says stronger governance, accountability and evidence-driven policymaking are essential to achieving sustainable development.