Economist David Ndii has asserted that Deputy President William Ruto is better poised to ascend to Presidency than his ODM rival Raila Odinga.
In an interview with the Daily Nation on Saturday, October 3, Ndii claimed that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Odinga will be blamed for the economic woes the nation is facing.
Ndii heaped blame on Kenyatta for excluding Ruto from the government which saw the DP shift his focus to women and youth through his hustler system.
The strategy has seen Ruto donate wheelbarrows and other equipment which the DP describes as empowering the youth. Ndii argued that the tactical play by Ruto was occasioned by Kenyatta's exclusionist economic policies.
However, Ruto being an outcast in his own government has made him a fan favourite with those who feel oppressed by the government perceiving him as their saviour.
"Uhuru has entrenched a crony capitalist economy in which a small corporate elite, helped by government policies, enjoy huge profit margins.
"A blowback of that exclusionary system is what has given life to the so-called ‘wheelbarrownomics’. Ruto did not create it. There has been an attempt to dismiss Ruto's donations as having nothing to do with the economy. It has everything to do with the economy," Ndii sated.
He declined that he was working for Ruto but argued that he was ready to work with him to fall dynasties.
On whether Odinga could pull a trick and win the 2022 elections, Ndii detailed that his collaboration with Kenyatta had dented his hopes.
He claimed that he tried to persuade Odinga from working with Kenyatta as the President would be unpopular during his last days in power.
Odinga and his allies have constantly accused Ruto of issuing handouts rather than teaching the youth how to fend for themselves. They have also questioned his source of wealth.
Ruto, while speaking at a funeral in Nakuru County on Friday, October 2, stated that his hustler movement was unstoppable and that he would continue to empower the common mwananchi.
“Yes. It is time for a change, time to talk and walk the hustler narrative. Not about sharing power but empowerment. Not about positions but jobs for our people, not about leaders but ordinary citizens. This wheelbarrow conversation will continue.
“If you see them angry with me giving out boda bodas, wheelbarrows and hand carts, it is because they fear they will not have people to use in political demonstrations. I shall keep the hustlers busy, productive and unavailable to them,” he stated.
