How Ruto's Sh4.7tr budget aims to lift hustlers' lives

President William Ruto during a past event. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

President William Ruto’s government has unveiled a national budget blueprint designed to accelerate his core economic pledges, setting the stage for a high-stakes fiscal year that will directly shape his campaign for a second term in August 2027. 

The draft 2026 Budget Policy Statement (BPS), published on Friday and reviewed by The Standard, lays out Ruto’s spending, borrowing, and revenue strategy for the 18 months leading up to Kenyans going to the polls.