Contrary To Critics, Kenya Reaping Big From Ruto’s Foreign Travels
The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto during an address at State House, Nairobi on May 18, 2023. PHOTO | PCS
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Many people have no jobs. I promised to address this problem which i inherited from the previous administration. I’m committed to walk the talk.
- President Ruto had a few days earlier visited Saudi Arabia where he managed to secure 350,000 job opportunities for Kenyans.
- The noise being made by my critics that the visits are not bearing any fruits is hollow, totally misleading and being made in bad faith. I’m not a tourist. I mean business. The business is to return our economy back on track and consequently elevate your leaving standards.
- You know these critics. They want me to fail and capitalize on this that i never kept my words during the campaigns for next General Election.
President William Ruto is currently on a state visit to Germany and later France.
The visit comes on heels of bilateral talks he had held with the President of Germany here in Nairobi.
He had also met the President of France. Two of these meetings took place on the sidelines of Global Conference of Parties on Climate change and United Nation General Assembly (UNGA).
The problem of unemployment in Kenya featured prominently in all these meetings.
Dr Ruto would mince no word in drawing the attention of these leaders to this issue.
In response, the President of Germany President assured him that his country will offer Kenya 200,000 jobs opportunities. I’m going to sit down with my government so that we draft the agreement.
Then Mr President William Ruto we will invite you for a state visit during which we will sign the final agreements which will pave the way for Kenyans to start working in Germany.
Before flying out, President Ruto informed Kenyans that this is one of issues taking him there.
Many people have no jobs. I promised to address this problem which i inherited from the previous administration. I’m committed to walk the talk.
President Ruto had a few days earlier visited Saudi Arabia where he managed to secure 350,000 job opportunities for Kenyans.
The noise being made by my critics that the visits are not bearing any fruits is hollow, totally misleading and being made in bad faith. I’m not a tourist. I mean business. The business is to return our economy back on track and consequently elevate your leaving standards.
You know these critics. They want me to fail and capitalize on this that i never kept my words during the campaigns for next General Election.
The other day Weega TV, a Kikuyu station, hosted me for a political show. One of the questions that came up was whether Dr Ruto’s frequent foreign travels were bearing fruits.
My response: Kenya is reaping big from these visits and they were within the mandate bestowed on the President by the constitution.
As the CEO of this nation, the President had no option but to honor the invitations from the heads of states of the developed and rich nations.
After the bilateral talks with his host, he would witness members of his delegation append signatures to various agreements and deals worth billions of shillings. The host will witness members of his team do the same?
This will not happen if the Kenyan President opted to skip the visits.
It is worth noting when President Uhuru Kenyatta ascended to power, he also made similar trips.
Those faulting Dr Ruto today did not raise a finger at the time. This is because Uhuru was thier buddy.
Recently, President Ruto made a high profile official visit to China where he stayed for three days. It was the first since he assumed office.
Just like his previous visits to European countries, he managed to secure lucrative deals worth Sh63 billion.
Under this arrangement, China will buy our avocados, tea and other farm produce.
He also convinced Chinese companies to rollout investments worth Sh644 billions in Kenya.
This trip came at a time when speculations were rife that he had shunned the East in favor of the West, a narrative peddled by those who cited his numerous visits to the Western capitals.
To me, it is too early to judge him. Dr Ruto is a democrat and a strong believer in the Kenyan constitution and the rule of law. So, he cannot make such a decision without seeking concurrence of the relevant arms of the Kenyan government.
It is worth noting that former President Mwai Kibaki laid the foundation that saw Kenya turning East and sought to strengthen ties with China.
As a result, China was awarded contracts worth billions of shillings.
Thika Superhighway, Lamu Port and Standard Guage Railway (SGR) were among the major projects clinched by the Asian giant.
Kibaki’s successor President Uhuru Kenyatta followed the suit.
On SGR, he managed to negotiate for a whopping contractual loan totalling to Sh370 billion.
The monies were used to construct the new modern line from Mombasa to Nairobi and to buy the rolling stocks.
For President Ruto, my considered view is that his wish is to maintain cordial relationship with all development partners.
In this maiden visit, President Ruto joined more than 100 heads of state and government invited by the President of China to attend the Belt and Road Forum.
During his tenure, President Uhuru used to attend this forum.
In one of them, he was accompanied by ODM leader Raila Odinga. This was during the reign of the ‘Handshake’ government.
Dr Ruto had a busy schedule during this visit. On the sidelines, he held talks with chief executives of the big companies.
Other deals he witnessed being signed covered strategic areas of mutual interest including energy and technology.
One of the firms agreed to help Kenya generate more energy at a lower cost. With this, hustlers in Kenya have a reason to smile as this would lead to lowering of the cost of electricity.
On technology, Ruto’s interventions were equally fruitful. The cost of the communication gadgets and internet services was bound to come down.
On SGR, I’m sure many recalls that this was a government-to- government deal. It follows that some of the key contents of agreement were not made the public.
The content becomes the top secret of Uhuru’s administration.
We recall that during this period the relationship between Uhuru his deputy Ruto had began to worsen. It did not take long before the implosion preceded by the ‘handshake’ between the President Uhuru and his arch rival Raila Odinga occurred.
From then, Dr Ruto was kept in darkness. Uhuru would not share critical information with him.
This is despite these mega projects having generated a public debate.
As Kenyans, this is a big burden being placed on our shoulders. The big question was. Are we going to get value for our money?
Ruto’s visit was therefore long overdue.
It gave him an opportunity to get to know the secrets.
It is worth noting that during the era of President Daniel Arap Moi, the West stood as Kenya’s key development partners.
I have been listening to the powerful speeches Dr Ruto had been making when the Presidents of Western countries invited him. He would boldly champion the course of Kenyans and that of Pan Africanism.
Given this scenerio, the President would not shy working with the partners who gave us better deals.
For the contracts, the government would always consider the firms that offer better terms. The cost of the project. But the quality of the work would surpass all the considerations.
President Ruto has been visiting rich countries and he has so far secured goodies worth billions of shillings for all of us, Kenyans. This shows that he means well for Kenya. Let us continue supporting him.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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