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Hard work that lies ahead for Ruto as he enters State House

Politics

After a protracted contest for State House, the hard work begins for President-elect William Ruto when he takes over the reins of power on Tuesday next week.

His victory, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court last Monday, came on the back of an ambitious and audacious campaign that saw him take the battle to multi-layered forces consisting of the outgoing regime and their partners in the Opposition.

What lies ahead, however, will equally challenge his reputation as one of Kenya's most successful strategists - one who possesses the capacity to think on his feet. Analysts will be keenly watching to see whether he will successfully deliver on the ambitious promises he made to Kenyans on the campaign trail.

While both Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Azimio-One Kenya Coalition of his main opponent, Raila Odinga, laid out grand plans, which they promised to deliver if given the mandate to serve as president, critics say the outgoing deputy president has more to prove than the ODM leader.

This is because he campaigned on the back of his story as a young man from a humble village who hustled his way to power and wealth by first selling chicken on the roadside.

This led to the creation of the 'Hustler Movement' that brought together those who feel marginalised by the country's economic model such as women, youth and those in the informal sector and who saw their emancipation in Kenya Kwanza's bottom-up economics.

To this end, Kenya Kwanza undertook to lift up those in the SME sector through the creation of a Sh50 billion Hustlers' Fund.

Speaking in June, Ruto said those who will benefit from the low-interest loans from the kitty must be members of Saccos and cooperatives at the constituency level. He said this will ensure that those without security will be able to borrow since all it will require will be group guarantees.

While various kitties have been established in the past, targeting marginalised groups such as women and youth, they have been bogged down by corruption and mismanagement as well as high rates of default, especially since Covid-19.

The success of the Hustlers' Fund would, therefore, depend on acting on lessons learned from the past and not reinventing the wheel.

Kenya Kwanza also promised to make immediate steps to lower the cost of living, which has deteriorated in recent months with a hike in the cost of food and fuel. Dr Ruto was clear that his administration will go beyond the subsidies introduced by the outgoing regime of President Uhuru Kenyatta with whom he severed ties in 2018 following the "Handshake deal" between Uhuru and Raila. On the campaign trail, Ruto depicted support for Raila as a continuation of the status quo and continued suffering of Kenyans. With his election, Dr Ruto will now be held to his word that he will bring down the cost of food, drugs and other essential goods.

Kenya Kwanza also committed to investing money more in agriculture to enhance food security and create employment. For instance, it promised to bring down the cost of farm inputs, with that of fertiliser reducing from a high of Sh7,000 to Sh2,500 as part of its plans to increase food security.

It also signed charters with various groups, which targeted the counties as well as special cadres of workers such as those in the health and education sectors.

All these will be looking forward to seeing Dr Ruto fulfil his promises, which will not make his work any easy given the limited fiscal space he will be expected to operate in the short and immediate term.

This is especially so because he will be inheriting an economy that is still recovering from global shocks, including the Covid-19 crisis and climate change. According to World Bank projections, the local economy will grow by 5.5 per cent this year and 5.2 per cent on average in 2023-24.

This, coupled with Ruto's determination to wean the country off external borrowing, will mean whoever gets the National Treasury docket has no choice but to burn the midnight oil to provide resources to fund his promises and sustain the ongoing infrastructural momentum. This is especially because in its first term in power, Kenya Kwanza has undertaken to allocate massive resources to targeted areas.

Apart from food security, employment creation and infrastructure, other resource-intensive projects and programmes in the Kenya Kwanza manifesto include health, education, security, water and sanitation, housing and settlement and ICT and creative economy. But at the top of his in-tray will be the cost of living crisis, given that he is getting into office at a time when the government subsidies that cushioned most Kenyans from high prices of fuel and unga (maize flour) are either coming to an end or at the tail end of expiry.

Some analysts have previously warned that the new regime may need to level up with the public and manage expectations to allow for the constitution of government before proper work on delivering on its promises can begin.

"It will be critical for whoever wins to level up with the public and manage expectations," International Crisis Group Programme Director for Africa Muriithi Mutiga averred last month before the outcome of the presidential election was announced.

This is especially important because Kenya Kwanza either promised to implement some of its pledges immediately they form government or within 100 days.

Apart from those that have an immediate cost factor, analysts will also be watching whether Ruto will fulfil his other pledges such as giving women 50 per cent of Cabinet slots and implementing the two-thirds gender rule in all appointive positions within 100 days.

He also undertook to assign official duties to his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and designated Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, which, he said, will ensure there is no repeat of the situation that obtained after he was sidelined by President Uhuru.

Ruto also promised to appoint all judges who were nominated by the Judicial Service Commission but whose appointment was declined by Uhuru.

In his pact with Amason Kingi's PAA Party, he vowed to return port operations to Mombasa, a pledge new governor, Abdulswamad Nassir, has said he will follow through despite being in a different formation.

But also high on Ruto's agenda will be uniting the country in the wake of the divisions that surrounded this year's election. In his remarks after he was declared the winner by IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, he promised that there will be no vengeance, which is a critical undertaking, given the narrow margin of his victory and the almost equal number of those who stayed out of the election.

"I am acutely aware that our country is at a stage where we need all hands on deck," he said at the time.

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