President William Ruto yesterday defended his record of the past two years in office, citing health, finance and housing as the budding shoots of his legacy.
The President told his critics and Kenyans who hold they are yet to feel his interventions to be patient, exuding confidence his bottom-up plan is on the right course.
“The time for doubt and anxiety is slowly but surely getting behind us, and the space for criticism, scepticism and pessimism is over,” Ruto said.
He said the state acknowledges Kenyans’ daily struggles, saying the citizens are heroes in their own way. The President spoke in Kwale, where he led the country’s 61st Mashujaa Day celebrations.
Many top government officials were in attendance. DP Rigathi Gachagua was missing in action. In his pleas to Kenyans, the President urged for more time to deliver his campaign promises, saying his transformation agenda will succeed.
“We must not allow the fear of change to imprison us in the past, and we must have greater faith in our collective capacity to achieve inclusive transformation and usher in progress that leaves no one behind. I call on all Kenyans to have faith and a little patience,” Ruto said.
Most recently, Kenyans have lamented challenges with the transfer of health insurance to the Social Health Authority. The President said the teething problems would be dealt with as soon as possible.
“In a matter of weeks, SHIF will be serving us efficiently and making the dream of Universal Health Coverage come true,” Ruto said.
He fired back at critics, saying they should instead be courageous enough to face changes. “Real change ushers us into unfamiliar places; transformative change overturns old assumptions and unlocks unprecedented possibilities.”
“Every step into the future takes a measure of courage, and the comfort of the familiar can become a temptation to hesitate or backslide,” Ruto said.
The President said his administration has implemented strong institutional and strategic measures to extend the impact of Universal Health Coverage.
He cited measures to improve distribution of the biomedical, pharmaceutical and medical supplies, including the establishment of Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) regional distribution centres in Kisumu, Embakasi and Mombasa.
Ruto told the gathering that his administration, which has recently had upheavals in the face of the bitter divorce with his deputy, has not lost focus on the plan.
He said his team is keen on dealing with “persistent unemployment, severe poverty, increasing inequality and general gross underdevelopment”.
“These are not only undesirable but are also unacceptable derogations from the legacy of our mashujaa and the spirit of our inter-generational commitment to freedom,” Ruto said.
On agricultural transformation, the president said his administration had concluded the procurement of the next batch of subsidised fertiliser.
He said the reforms will continue across the value chains. ese include fisheries and aquaculture, horticulture, food crops, livestock, beekeeping and rangeland development.
by CHARLES MGHENYI