Deputy President (DP) Rigathi Gachagua listed more than a dozen promises President William Ruto has achieved in his eight months after being sworn into office.
The DP enumerated the pledges while attending a thanksgiving event in Nyandarua County together with his boss.
When the second in command took to the podium, he was seemingly angry about media reports that Ruto had delivered empty promises. He accused the media of misreporting and giving Ruto's achievements a blind eye.
“They (Nation) are still living in denial. Listen to the successes and the kept promises by the president so far in only eight months,” Gachagua stated.
1. Ruto appointed and swore in judges of the Court of Appeal that former President Uhuru Kenyatta had refused to appoint.
2. Gachagua noted that Ruto had allocated Ksh4 billion in the budget policy statement (BPS) to the Judiciary. This was in order to keep his promise to enhance the independence of the Judiciary.
3. The DP noted that the President had given financial autonomy to the National Police Service (NPS). He stated that this was done to ensure the independence of the police service.
4.Digitization of nearly 5,000 government services from only 320 services.
5. He stated that Ruto appointed the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms to deal with the challenges of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Gachagua noted that this was part of the already fulfilled promises.
6. The DP emphasised that Ruto had sorted out the issue of university reforms. On May 3, Ruto unveiled university reforms including a new funding model, aimed at saving institutions of higher education from the debt burden.
7. Gachagua underscored Ruto's achievements in realizing affordable housing saying, “In eight months only, the president has put up 36,000 housing units.”
8. The former Mathira lawmaker added that the president had distributed milk coolers across the country for the benefit of dairy farmers.
9. He noted that the Hustler Fund was one of the successes of Ruto’s administration. “As we speak, more than Ksh24 billion has been lent to the people of Kenya,” Gachagua stated.
10, Gachagua underscored that Ruto unlocked stalled road projects by paying contractors so that the projects could be completed.
11. He praised Ruto for lowering the price of a two-kilogram packet of maize flour from Ksh230 to between Ksh150 and Ksh180 depending on where the customer buys.
12. He stated that Ruto had accomplished public sector reforms as he had promised. Gachagua explained that chiefs are no longer being used to achieve political ends but are now working for the people such as to eliminate illicit alcohol.
13. Gachagua stated that the president does not use the criminal justice system to curtail political freedom as he had promised in his campaign.
14.He noted that the president had visited 39 out of 47 counties in the last eight months. This was so that he could meet the people and engage with them as he had promised.
15. He stated that the president had supplied food to drought-stricken areas.
16. He noted that the Kenya Kwanza administration has employed the largest number of teachers at 35,000 in a single financial year.
“Your Excellency your promises are too many. I have gotten confused,” he confessed.
One of the promises that Kenyans feel the Kenya Kwanza administration has failed to honour is lowering the cost of living with prices of essential commodities shooting through the roof.
