People can't eat markets, even though Prezzo Ruto has built 400 of them countrywide

President William Ruto in a past function. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Prezzo Bill Ruto, who purports to be better than all his four predecessor put together, without specifying how he earned the distinction was at it this week, claiming he has built more than 400 markets since he took power, compared to one previous, unnamed leader who reportedly built one market in five years. 

I have no idea how construction of markets is evaluated as development, because one can’t eat a market, but then Rutonomics use a complex matrix of self-assessment. 

I will not speculate what could be the motivation for such a high markets turnover—a perfect example being the Ndaragwa town in central Kenya. The previous two remain markets there remain unused, so the latest market, built at Sh65m, will bring the total markets investment to over Sh100 million. 

There are cynics who claim, without evidence, that the only reason Nairobi has been turned in a large construction site is because Prezzo Ruto is busy selling brick and mortar. The only trade that Prezzo Ruto ever conceded to engaging in was the sale of poultry products, a lofty way of coding chicken hawking, a rooster clutched under the armpit, another hoisted up in the air. 

And I keep asking myself: If Prezzo Ruto was as busy alleged, engaging in all these trades, from cement to steel, maize and onions sale, kwani how many stomachs does he seek to fill? I mean, we need to be fair to the man. 

So, if he says he’s built more than 400 markets in two years, and he’s been in power for three years, do we call him a liar just because he edited one year to enhance his annual deliveries? 

And could markets count towards offsetting Affordable Housing deficit? I mean, if they are built using stone, they could count as houses, especially since they will accommodate hundreds of Kenyans. 

As to the question about what the markets will sell, and how traders will make it to those premises, we have to be fair and say someone else should complete those tasks. After all, people cannot eat roads, as Prezzo Ruto once quipped, and neither could they eat markets.