State of the Nation: Adani saga overshadows Ruto's promises

President William Ruto addresses a joint sitting of Parliament during his second State of the Nation address on November 1, 2024. [PCS]

The Constitutional requirement that the President submits an annual performance report to the nation through the joint houses of parliament was a stroke of genius by the drafters of the Constitution.

Even though we may have underrated the significance of this provision, it provides a great opportunity for the president to audit his administration’s achievements and report back to those who put him or her into power.

For the electorate, it is a great platform to track and evaluate the performance of the President each year.

President Ruto’s State of the Nation Address in parliament thus allows us a perfect chance to reconcile the public mood in the country and what he thinks as his administration’s scorecard.

However, given his gift of the garb, it takes a deeper reflection and scouting of corresponding data to sort out the truth from the half-truths from his many public addresses.

The president took exactly 67 minutes and 43 seconds to put his case before the people. The question now is whether he convinced the majority of Kenyans skeptical of his administration’s performance.

For our analytical context and clarity, this article will isolate five dominant themes to evaluate the totality of what the president told the nation. These includes public perceptions of the administration, the Adani question, accountability, democracy and state of Kenya Kwanza’s signature programs.

Damned either way

To be fair to the President, his speech came at a time when the public mood in the country is extremely toxic for his administration.

Listening to discussions on various media platforms, it would appear a majority of the people do not believe him on anything anymore.

Unfortunately for him, there seems to be some divine forces working in favor of the people but against him.

Take for instance the indictment of the Adani group investors in the US just hours to his speech. But we shall come back to this shortly.

One of the notable things that stands out from the address is the correct characterizes of the questions Kenyans are asking about his administration at the beginning of the address.

 Among these questions are whether his government is seized of the realities of the common Mwanainchi, whether his government listens to the people and how long it would take for his achievements to be felt on the ground, just but to use the street lingua.

Probing these questions on his own motion is enough prove that he at least gets to hear of what the people are saying out here.

It is not enough for the president to just cancel the public engagements with Adani on the airport and powerline deal. The Adani group is the lead agency and largest shareholder in the SHIF system. [AFP]

From a technical point of view, putting these questions at the onset of the speech implied that his address sought to answer that which the people have been saying about him and his administration. What is now debatable is whether he achieved anything much in his attempts to appease not only his critiques, but also many his doubtful supporters.

Things have been complicated further by the growing voice of the religious community and re-energization of the civil society.

The fact that we are a very religious society where majority of the folks will take the word of their religious leaders without question is enough weapon against his administration.

Furthermore, he himself acknowledged at his swearing in ceremony that it is the religious community that prayed him into power. If indeed that was true, it equally follows that the religious community can also pray him out of office, whatever that means.

The second issue that stands out and the one that made it to breaking news across all mainstream media houses was the cancelation of the ongoing engagements with the Adani group. This alone sends a foul smell not only for the KK wing in government but also the long standing opposition chief, Raila Odinga. It is a mortal injury to the character of both the president and his former nemesis now turned ally.

This column has consistently argued that there is something horribly wrong in the bureaucratic ranks of government if it is the president who has to prosecute every program the government initiates.

Just weeks ago, the president himself defended Adani engagements in the country when everyone else was questioning the clandestine manner in which projects were been onboarded under PPPs.

It is not enough for the president to just cancel the public engagements with Adani on the airport and powerline deal. The Adani group is the lead agency and largest shareholder in the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) system.

For those of us who have accessed the Taifacare portal, it is nothing more than an ordinary Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. It is inconceivable as to what the publics are paying for 104 billion shillings.

If Adani is accused of paying a bribe on transport and energy infrastructure projects, then he can equally use the same means to win a health system contract. The cost of this system and the hefty direct deductions from payslips are the sources of the opposition to the SHIF and her cousins.

President William Ruto inspects a guard of honour mounted by Kenya Airforce during the State of the Nation address at Parliament on November 21, 2024.[Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Nothing less than a full public and transparent inquiry into Adani dealings in the country will convince Kenyans that these deals were not hatched and birthed at the house on the hill.

This raises many questions for other mega deals on the fertilizer subsidies, the edible oil scandal and the G-to-G oil deal. In the secret parts of our minds, many of us wonder whether if these things have a connection to the luxurious private jet used for the state visit to the US earlier in the year.

Burden of accountability

This leads us to the third issue from the speech. While the president spoke big on corruption, it is unfortunate that the constitutional principles of transparency, accountability and public participation are the least of any virtues that can be associated with his administration.

Ruto’s administration is the epitome of opaqueness in multibillion dealings until they are caught on their tracks by a vigilant and patriotic citizenry.

Further, while the president offered a veiled criticism against the anti-corruption agencies, it is noteworthy that most of the collapsed cases are those of close allies to him, of whom some have been appointed to plum jobs in government. One cannot fail to wonder who is fooling who here?    

Fourth is that while the president extolled democracy, rule of law, rights and freedoms of everyone, it is clear the administration is still very bitter with the Gen-Z led protest and their aftermath.

It is more telling when security agencies publicly claim that they do not know who is abducting critics to the administration.

Even if it were to be true that there are criminal gangs abducting people, it still remains the sole responsibility of the security apparatus to secure each and every citizen. Our constitutional rights, freedoms and rule of law must be a lived experience, not one to be told in speeches.

Finally, it is by design that I address the question of the KK signature programs last when in essence they are the pillars of the national address. The reason I speak about them last here is because this column has consistently and with unimpeachable evidence demonstrated policy gaffes and disconnect with our lived experience.

The president does not need to tell us things about Hustler Fund, Housing levy houses, SHIF/SHA, Competency Based Curriculum and university funding model.

Any Kenyan of reasonable mind understands the pain and the helplessness we must endure even as billions of taxes disappear into thin air through this programs. The young people of this country need not be told about their joblessness!