Ruto dismisses his critics as prophets of doom

President William Ruto at Suswa during the the beginning of his tour of Narok County. [File, Standard] President William Ruto yesterday dismissed his critics and described them as prophets of doom who have nothing to offer for the development of this country. "Prophets of doom who see no good in our country and speak ill of our motherland must never succeed. We must be the generation that sets bold and ambitious goals," said Ruto. President Ruto said this during the opening of Mombasa International Agriculture, which will run up to Sunday. He said the country has made tangible achievements since he took over the leadership of this country in 2022 and promised to soldier on with his development agenda. He said that the change was not confined to agriculture alone but also areas like housing, healthcare, MSME and the digital and creative economy, among other sectors. The president bragged that Kenya was one of the largest economies in Africa after being ranked the sixth largest economy in Africa. "We are now ranked as the 6th largest economy in Africa. Our inflation has declined sharply from 9.6% in 2022 to 4.5% last month. The shilling has held steady at KSh129 to the dollar for over a year, while our foreign exchange reserves have grown from $5.7 billion to $11.8 billion, enough to cover five months of imports," boasted Ruto. He said that last week a global credit rating agency upgraded Kenya's rating to B, adding that was a clear signal that the world was seeing Kenya as more stable, reliable and better able to meet its obligations. Ruto said as a leader he was looking beyond the short-term expediencies of winning the next election and instead was focusing on a long-term prosperity of the country. "We had the option to take the easy way out, to focus on a few areas and defer the rest to a convenient time, as critics warned that our agenda was too ambitious and too bold to succeed. But we refused the comfortable path. He said the path he took to tackle the problems facing the country head-on had started bearing fruit, and that is why the price of maize flour had gone down to 130 from 250 when he took over. "Today, we are proving the doubters wrong, and we shall continue to focus on the things that matter until every sector reflects the promise of transformation we made to the people of Kenya," said Ruto. He said he was confident about the future of the country following measures he had taken to improve the economy, healthcare and other important things in the country. He said even the price of one sack of maize had dropped to Sh 3000 from Sh 5000, which was a good sign of more food production in the country. "We must refuse the discouragement of the naysayers and pessimists. We must summon the discipline, courage, and determination to do the utmost now, as we have the opportunity," said the president. He advised Kenyans to reject smallness of vision and the comfort of the average, for Kenya was never meant to settle for less. Insisting the destiny of the country was greatness "We committed to nothing less than building an economy that works for every Kenyan, leaving no region, no community, and no household behind. In the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation," explained Ruto He said despite noises being made by his critics, the country's economy had started doing well because even tea and coffee, which used to perform poorly in the world market, had revived hope in the farmers. "Tea production has grown by 12%, while earnings jumped 40% from KSh154 billion in 2022 to KSh215 billion in 2024," said Ruto. He said the country was now ranked as the 6th largest economy as the inflation declined from 9.6 per cent to 4.5 per cent. Newsdesk@standardmedia.co.ke

Ruto dismisses his critics as prophets of doom

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