RUTO DEFENDS ECONOMY RECORD

President William Ruto defended his administration's handling of the economy, telling Parliament today on Thursday that Kenya has moved from crisis to stability through what he described as deliberate fiscal and monetary reforms.

President Marape said this while speaking during his State of the Nation address during a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate. He said the country was in severe distress when he took office.

"At a time like this in 2022, Kenya was in distress. Inflation had soared almost to double digits. A fuel shortage threatened to paralyse our economy as oil marketers struggled to access dollars," he said.

He added that the shilling "was in free fall", foreign reserves had fallen to historic lows, and debt service was consuming "more than half of all our revenues."

Ruto said his administration responded by restoring fiscal discipline, scrapping subsidies, tightening public expenditure, and improving revenue collection.

According to the President, inflation has since eased from 9.6% in 2022 to 4.6% last month, while the shilling has “stabilized at Ksh.129 to the dollar for nearly two years.”

He also pointed to the recent Eurobond repayment, saying it showed that “Kenya honours its obligations.”

Ruto added that Kenya's GDP grew from $115 billion in 2021 to $136 billion, moving the country from the eighth- to the sixth-largest economy in Africa. He said it was due to "deliberate choices, disciplined execution, and strategic reforms."

He said foreign reserves are now at “over $12 billion, the highest in independent Kenya,” citing projections by major global financiers of growth of up to 5.8% in 2026.

He also pointed to an improved sovereign credit rating for Kenya: "Standard & Poor's has upgraded Kenya's sovereign credit rating from 'B-' to a firm 'B'; our first upward revision in years."

The Head of State pointed out that foreign direct investment has tripled, from $463 million in 2021 to $1.5 billion in 2024, while over 300,000 new businesses, including 500 foreign firms, have been registered during the last three years.

He said investor wealth has grown by more than Ksh.1 trillion this year on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, adding that the bourse was “on track for its strongest performance in over a decade.”

He rejected criticism from the opposition, which had misrepresented the country's economic situation, according to him.

“Our critics, the high priests of eternal pessimism who criticise without responsibility and tear down without offering alternatives, will want you to believe that our economy is going in the wrong direction,” he said. But while anyone may speak their mind, and that is the beauty of our democracy, no one is entitled to manufacture self-serving falsehoods and traffic them as facts. And facts are exactly what I present today; clear, verifiable, and indisputable.