Broken promises and more pledges make Ruto master of doublespeak

President William Ruto speaks during the launch of the Kenya Kwanza manifesto at Kasarani on June 30, 2022. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The short-term pledges President William Ruto made both during the campaigns and in the Kenya Kwanza manifesto have made him look more like a master of doublespeak.

He tirelessly rallied Kenyans to reject the Finance Bill 2022, which had proposed to increase VAT on petroleum products from eight to 16 per cent, calling the measures punitive and insensitive.

"Tuko na shida na mambo ya mafuta (We have a problem with petroleum) These people don't understand the damage they are doing to the people and the economy, kwa hii tax wanaongeza usiku na mchana (on the tax they are increasing day and night)," said the then DP Ruto, while campaigning in 2022 as he accused President Kenyatta of increasing taxes.

In April last year, barely six months after taking office, despite a public outcry, Ruto signed the Finance Bill 2023 into law, increasing the fuel levy to 16 per cent, the same thing he had opposed in 2022.

Defending his decision, Ruto said he intended to raise Sh50 billion from the enhanced VAT on petroleum products.

"The eight per cent will give us Sh50 billion to build deal roads," he said during an interview with all TV stations at State House in late April 2023.

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi argues the promises Ruto made during the campaign were mere rhetoric and all, including a pledge to reduce the cost of living, have since failed.

That includes the much touted government-to-government oil deal that was to reduce the cost of living, which may turn out to be a mega scandal if the mystery surrounding it is anything to go by.

"Instead of the cost of fuel going down, it shot up by about Sh70 during that period, while the dollar rate also shot up making imports more expensive and out of reach for Kenyans," says Osotsi.

Both in the manifesto and the campaigns, the President promised to fix the economy by dealing with corruption and other unethical practices in service delivery to entrench good governance and uplift the downtrodden.

The manifesto, also known as "the plan", stipulated how the government was to eradicate hunger, create jobs, and lower the cost of living.

It focused on agriculture, housing, digital superhighway, environment, climate change, manufacturing, and micro, small, and medium enterprises.

During the campaigns, Ruto also said the government would defend the rule of law and reassured Kenyans that as President, he would also have some limitations just like the other arms of government. He said there was a need for all to operate within the law.

"It is the rule of law, not the rule of man. This is the bare minimum that can make us accepted as a member of the international community and a country that is at peace with itself," the President said while overseeing the swearing of judges at State House, Nairobi.

And now, Ruto is embroiled in a dirty fight with the Judiciary, calling some judges corrupt litigants after some of their rulings stopped what he calls "the affordable housing" project.

"We will not allow judicial tyranny and judicial impunity," Ruto said at a public rally recently, creating a national debate on the independence of the Judiciary and respect for the Constitution.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka found it worrisome that Ruto, a man who has been around the political scene for about 30 years and witnessed constitutional reforms, could make such a statement.

"What baffles me is that a man who has been around with three presidents; Moi, Kibaki and Uhuru, can say he will not honour court orders. That statement to me, as a legislator and a Kenyan citizen, is worrisome," said Onyonka.

When he took the oath of office, the President promised that; "tutaondoa ukabila (we will root out tribalism). However, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) report released late last year suggests otherwise.

The Ethnic and Diversity report said over 80 per cent of government jobs are dominated by 10 tribes, led by the president's own Kalenjin at 15.83 per cent, Kikuyu at 15.77 per cent, Luhya at 11.6 per cent and Luo at 9.81 per cent, while the remaining 29 tribes hold only one per cent.

In their manifesto, the President promised to bring down the cost of living but instead, the policies implemented so far appear to have made Kenyans poorer.

Information Systems Analyst Philip Kisia accuses the Kenya Kwanza administration of promising heaven but delivering hell to hustlers.

"Ask anybody on the streets, even a young child and they will tell you that life was a lot better under the leadership of President Kenyatta. As we speak, under Ruto, the price of everything has gone up more than never before," says Kisia.

He recounts that Ruto promised to bring down the cost of petrol to Sh70 per litre when he was campaigning but it is now over Sh200.

Only eight months ago, Ruto promised that the government-to-government oil deal could have brought down the rate of the dollar to between Sh110 and Sh120 but it's instead hurtling towards Sh170.

The promise of free secondary education by Kenya Kwanza is also still fresh in the minds of Kenyans, yet education is fast becoming unaffordable. At the same time, Kenyans are also uncertain and anxious over the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum.

Political analysts say corruption is now worse than during the Kanu regime, citing the Sh20 billion Mama Pima cooking oil the government launched last year as the clearest example of looting. Nothing is heard of the cheap oil the government said it had imported for Kenyans to purchase using dispensers installed in estates at much cheaper prices.

Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina raised a red flag about the oil last year when he claimed the three large edible oil manufacturers had been forced to buy the KNTC cargo.

He also raised queries on what happened to the cooking oil that KNTC had imported, including what became of a programme that the corporation launched in August to distribute the product through dispensing machines.

"We no longer heard about Mama Pima. This is the most corrupt government ever. It has become a laundry for cleansing people who are corrupt because all corruption cases raised are dropped," says Kisia.

Another scandal that hit the country last year involved the importation of a Sh17 billion oil cargo whose ownership was claimed by several people after docking at the Port of Mombasa.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga accused senior government officers in the Ministry of Energy of profiteering after allegedly using Sh17 billion from the consolidated fund to purchase the fuel through agents and pocketing profit generated from the local retail market.

It also brought into question the government-to-government oil importation deal struck between Kenya, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"Can they show us the G to G contact and the details of the contact between Kenya and the gulf countries," said Raila before Ruto responded that all transaction documents were available in parliament. However, no documents have ever been made public until today.

Kisia blames Ruto for promising to run an efficient government but had filled his Cabinet with people of questionable character, some accused of murder and rape, among other crimes.

"He promised to appoint hustlers and mama mbogas in his government but have you seen any apart from the rich sycophants and friends who campaigned with him in UDA?" said Kisia.

Last month, Raila asked Ruto to reduce his appetite for taxation and instead introduce budget cuts for Kenyans to have more money and to also bring down the cost of living in 2024.

President Ruto has repeatedly promised to reduce foreign borrowing by raising public savings and insurance premiums but levies on civil servants pay slips have increased.

Every working Kenyan is, for example, expected to pay six per cent of their salary through the National Social Security Fund among other levies

Upon taking office, Ruto promised to reform the tax system to make it easier for small businesses and low-income earners by making the richest pay more. Speaking in parliament, the President pledged his determination to reform the taxation system, to make it responsive to the needs of the economy and for it to become more progressive.

In the Kenya Kwanza manifesto, Ruto told Kenyans they would incentivise the introduction of electric mass transit systems in all cities and towns but no such project has even been discussed, let alone getting launched.

Instead, taxes have only gone up making the cost of doing business unbearable while available jobs now appear to be those the President said is lobbying in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Germany, and the US to give Kenyans and those created at the housing project construction sites.