Scorecard: William Ruto's 30 days in office

Taking over the government at a time when more than 4.2 million Kenyans are facing acute food shortage due to drought across 24 counties, high cost of living, rising food prices, a weakening shilling and inflation, those words were music to the ears of a hungry electorate.

However, the Kenya Kwanza administration's first month in office has seen little resolution of these issues even as the president crafts his government.

Since Kibaki's record has been the yardstick upon which Ruto's administration has asked Kenyans to measure it by, judged by Gachagua's remarks, it is only appropriate to compare the two governments.

Kibaki was sworn in on December 30, 2002, and seven days later, on January 6, chiefs were rallying parents to take their children to public schools after the rollout of free primary education programme.

In his first act of business during his inauguration speech, President Ruto promised Kenyans that the price of fertiliser would drop almost by half, a week after he takes office. This has come to pass.

"For the short rains, we have already made arrangements to make 1.4 million bags of fertilisers available at Sh3,500 for a 50kg bag - down from Sh6,500," said Ruto.

The president also weighed in on the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), promising to form a task force that would facilitate public participation to streamline key issues.

Two weeks after his swearing-in, Ruto appointed a team of 42 members, led by renowned educationist Prof Raphael Munavu, to collect views and propose radical changes on the implementation of CBC, review middle-level training, and propose modifications to university education.

Consequential changes in his first 30 days that touched directly at the heart of the 'hustler' predicament came from the president's meeting with Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa, which led to the slashing of Fuliza overdraft charges by 50 per cent. Daily charges on loans of up to Sh1,000 came down from Sh10 to Sh5. Introduced by Safaricom in 2019, the Fuliza service has an average of 1.7 million daily users.

Similarly, in an attempt to bolster efforts touching on the lives of the people, the president flagged off a consignment of 40,000 bags of beans and rice and assorted animal feeds and cooking fat destined for the 23 drought-stricken counties.

The move has seen the DP take command of the drought response task force, pulling in counties' leadership and international partners. Currently, efforts are underway for the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) to drill boreholes in the drought-affected areas while a directive has been issued to the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) to buy cattle from the locals and offer the meat to the affected population, especially schoolchildren.

With the president's first week in the office having him travel abroad to attend the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II and later to the United States to attend the United General Assembly (UNGA), the state of Kenyans' economic crisis remained uncertain.

While in the states, Ruto met US President Joe Biden and resolved to strengthen ties between the two nations. He later had a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which their talks focused on tackling food security, peace and security.

On his return, the president unveiled Cabinet nominees, a majority of whom his political allies, including Moses Kuria, Kithure Kindiki, Peninah Malonza, Mithika Linturi, Aden Duale, Kipchumba Murkomen, Aisha Jumwa and Alice Wahome.

However, his Cabinet fell short of his promise to have 50 per cent women. Only seven women have been nominated to the Cabinet out of the 22 slots.

Similarly, the Head of State's Cabinet has faced criticism for failing to present the face of Kenya and having more youth.

"If his excellency the president is telling us that we should not place a lot of premium on one ethnic group, why should we have one ethnic group produce a deputy president and seven Cabinet Secretaries to the exclusion of these other minorities?" said Nyamira Senator Okong'o Omogeni.

Despite criticism from the opposition, Ruto expressed confidence that the new team will work on the "nuts and bolts of the country's transformation."

"We have a difficult economic situation in our hands but I am confident that working with this team, we will overcome all the challenges we are facing," said Ruto while naming the Cabinet in State House, Nairobi. However, a fortnight later Ruto's Cabinet is yet to take office over delayed vetting by the National Assembly.

"It will be premature to assess the president's performance at the moment. I would give it another two months," said economist Ken Gichinga.

Echoing Gichinga's thoughts, governance expert Tom Mboya said the president is currently hamstrung without his own working Cabinet, thus limiting what he can actually achieve. Currently, shortlisted candidates for Principal Secretary positions are expected to be interviewed between tomorrow and October 22.