Why President Ruto is held hostage by his brand of politics

President William Ruto checks out a tricyce at State House Nairobi on October 2, 2023. [PCS]

This week’s Cabinet reshuffle was, in effect, an admission by President William Ruto that he selected a sub-par cabinet.

Yet instead of firing most of the Cabinet Secretaries, he merely moved them around, even creating an extra portfolio. That said, the new portfolio is a slight improvement on account of better fit for individual CSs.

Important portfolios such as Foreign Affairs, Trade, Infrastructure, Internal Security and Treasury are now staffed by individuals with ability to set aside juvenile political food fights in the execution their duties.

One hopes the President will find courage to extend this reality to the entire Cabinet – either by incentivising behaviour change, or replacing Cabinet secretaries.

His challenge is, of course, politics. He won the presidency atop a transactional movement and has done little since to entrench himself as his own person.

Part of the problem has been the economy. A flagging global economy, high inflation, and looming debt repayments that demand heightened tax enforcement have left him with little room to maneuver as far as policy goes.

Unable to make the case to the people that he is their person, he has found himself stuck with the cheaper option of pleasing elites and keeping them onside.

Which is to say we are likely to be stuck with a mediocre cabinet for as long as the economy is flagging. Reality is likely to punish the President’s attention to politics at the expense of expertise.

Everybody understands the truism that personnel is policy, especially during periods of multiple crises.

More than ever, the country needs a cabinet staffed by men and women of conviction, who sweat the details, and are motivated to do good by the public (even as they take care of their personal and political interests).

From agriculture, to education, to healthcare, to water, to housing, to job creation, we need individuals with domain expertise and intrinsic motivation to get tangible results. Otherwise, the system will collapse under its own weight.

I remain optimistic that the window of opportunity to reorient the economy is yet to be completely shut.

We still have time to institutionalise policies that will lay the foundation for our economic takeoff.

But to get there we need a rational administrative apparatus and leadership that does not cavalierly sacrifice competence on the altar of short-term political expediency.

The writer is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University