Kenyans' pain: Soaring cost of living tops as New Year knocks

The high cost of living, corruption and the state of health services and education in the country will be the key factors shaping the 2027 General Election, a new poll by InfoTrack has revealed.

With less than two years to the elections, the poll released yesterday showed that many Kenyans were concerned by the current high cost of living, with 46 per cent of the 1,000 respondents interviewed expressing concern over the government’s inability to address the same.

Interestingly, concerns over the cost of living were registered in President William Ruto’s political bastion in the Rift Valley as well as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Nyanza region — key support bases of the Kenya Kwanza-led broad-based government.

In Nyanza, 56 per cent of the respondents expressed concern, 55 per cent in Rift Valley, 45 per cent in North Eastern, 44 per cent in Eastern and 41 per cent in Nairobi and central regions. At the Coast, 26 per cent were opined that the cost of living would shape voters’ choice in the looming general elections.

The survey was conducted between December 19 and 20 across all 47 counties.

The findings corroborate the reality experienced by a majority of Kenyans during this festive period and the sustained criticism by the Church over the country’s state of affairs.

Earlier this month, the National Council of Churches chided President Ruto’s administration, accusing it of failing to provide proper governance, accountability and mistreating the youth.

They also blamed Parliament for many of the ills bedevilling the country, arguing that it had failed in its oversight of the Executive and in the fight against corruption.

In a strongly worded statement, senior clerics also called on the youth to rise up against what they described as a “failed” administration. They decried the sorry state of affairs, saying 77 per cent of the respondents were poorer today than they were one year ago and that 60 per cent of the population would not re-elect any of the current political leaders, from members of county assemblies to the President.

“The government is perpetrating ills such as ushering in an unbearable cost of living, running down of the health and education sectors and an abrasive attack on democracy,” the statement said.

On corruption, the poll by Infotrak indicated that respondents in Nairobi were most concerned by the vice at 40 per cent, followed by Rift Valley (32 per cent), Coast (30 per cent), Western (28 per cent) while 24 per cent of the respondents in Nyanza and Central regions sought a ramp up in the fight against corruption.  Anti-corruption efforts resonate most with voters aged between 27 and 35 years at 30 per cent,

The dire state of medical services was equally a thorn in the flesh for the respondents interviewed, with the North Eastern region being most affected, followed by Nairobi, Nyanza Coast, Rift Valley and Central. The poll indicates that health services are particularly important to those aged 46 to 55 years.

Notably, since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Health has come under sharp focus following revelations of alleged failure by the government to ensure efficiency and access to equitable and affordable health care by Kenyans.

Drug shortages, delays in payment of doctors and confirmation of interns, as well as allegations of theft of public resources through procurement by officials, have rocked the ministry.

In September, private hospitals, under the umbrella of the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya, alleged that ghost hospitals were receiving payouts from the Social Health Authority (SHA) — the new health scheme, which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund

In an interview with The Standard, the association’s chairperson, Brian Lishenga, also accused SHA leadership of favouring politically connected players, with payments going to the highest bidder.

When Azimio la Umoja supporters protested with sufuria's on their heads against the cost of living. [File, Standard]

An investigation by The Standard last week also uncovered a dire shortage of critical blood test reagents, essential drugs, and nutritious food for patients, alarming security lapses at Kenyatta National Hospital.

“Imagine patients being fed on white porridge for breakfast. It has little nutritional value apart from energy. We are giving people medicine but not feeding them; so, they get sicker,” a nurse lamented. 

Insiders intimated that the hospital’s woes were linked to a National Treasury directive that has starved the facility of operational funds and placed the lives of hundreds of patients in grave danger by compromising the quality of healthcare. This, despite the medical facility collecting Sh40 million to Sh60 million daily from patients and being owed, according to government figures, approximately Sh1.58 billion by SHA.   

And further according to the poll, whether the issues bedevilling the education sector are addressed or not will decide on which way the 2027 elections will go as espoused by 30 per cent of the respondents in Nairobi and Eastern regions respectively, 29 per cent in Central, 28 per cent in Nyanza, 26 per cent in the Rift Valley and Coast, and five per cent in the North Eastern region.

Uncertainty on a looming school fees hike in 2026 is a key issue facing parents and stakeholders, even as it thrusts the issue of equity and accessibility to education in the country to the fore. In November, the Ministry of Education released guidelines for senior schools that appeared to introduce a standardised annual fee of Sh53,554 as the pioneer junior secondary school cohort transitions to senior school. There was also talk of a reduction in school capitation.

Education CS Julius Ogamba, however, earlier this month, noted that there will be no increase in school fees for the 2026 academic year. Speaking during the release of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment results, also stated that capitation for senior school learners will continue at Sh22,244 per year.

“I wish to emphasise for the avoidance of doubt that there has been no revision of boarding fees, or any other fees payable for learners in senior school. The prevailing guidance on amounts payable will continue to apply as before.”

Allegations of corruption and skewed allocation of capitation funds have also dogged the education sector. A report released by the Office of the Auditor-General in July exposed major gaps and irregularities in the disbursement of capitation funds to public schools, including payments to ghost and defunct institutions, leading to a staggering Sh117 billion shortfall in funding over the past four financial years.

Consequently, secondary schools bore the brunt of the shortfall of Sh71 billion, junior secondary schools Sh31 billion and primary schools Sh14 billion.

Moreover, youth employment stands out as a key issue for younger Kenyans. A telling 40 per cent of respondents aged 18 to 26 years observed that job creation for young people will influence their vote, reflecting high unemployment and economic uncertainty among the youth.

At the same time, the poll has brought to the fore that 31 per cent of Kenyans do not perceive the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to be free, fair or credible. This perception was strongest among men at 32 per cent, compared to 29 per cent of women. Older respondents aged between 36 and 45 years expressed the highest level of distrust at 34 per cent, followed closely by those aged 27 to 35 years at 32 per cent.

The findings publicised reveal that only a small section of Kenyans were confident in the IEBC’s ability to deliver fairly, with just eight per cent of respondents overall describing the recent by-elections as “very free, fair, and credible.”

But 16 per cent of respondents said the by-elections were “mostly free, fair, and credible,” with relatively similar responses from men (16 per cent) and women (15 per cent).