President William Ruto
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Recently, President Ruto made yet another 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.
I have in the recent past been hearing questions being raised in some quarters on whether Kenyans were reaping any benefits from President William Ruto’s frequent foreign travels.
Weega TV, a Kikuyu station, hosted me a few days ago and this is one of the questions that came up.
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 their buddy.
Recently, President Ruto made yet another 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 begun 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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