The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto and General Francis Omondi Ogola, Chief of The Defence French Forces
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The efforts have now born the fruits. President Ruto kept his word of officially launching the UHC as he led the nation in cerebrating this year’s Mashujaa Day.
- Speaking during this ceremony which was held in Kericho County, Dr Ruto emphasized on the importance of having a healthy nation.
- Healthy people epitomize a productive nation.
- Today we are cerebrating the Mashujaa On this day, we remember the gallant and heroic role played by the freedom fighters to liberate our country from the bondage of colonialism.
- Apart from striving to reclaim our lands and win the war against slavery, the fighters had flagged three other enemies- poverty, diseases and illiteracy.
President William Ruto ascended to power on a platform of a raft of the pre-election promises.
Fellow Kenyans, I understand all your problems and I want you to trust in me that I have the solutions.
This message resonated very well with the majority of Kenyans. This is because of two reasons. First, it was anchored on two slogans-The Hustler Nation and Bottom Up Economic Model.
Secondly, he had packaged himself as a son of the poor, a real hustler.
This is unlike his main competitor Raila Odinga.
He had managed to convince his supporters that Raila hailed from a very rich family of the dynasties.
So, come the Election Day, Ruto was overwhelmingly elected.
Why Raila got the shock of his life? He never thought he can lose. This is because for the first time he enjoyed the support of the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta as well as the deep state and system.
Since he won the elections, President Ruto has made great strides towards fulfilling his pre-election promises.
The rolling out of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) stood out as one of the key pillars in his manifesto.
The efforts have now born the fruits. President Ruto kept his word of officially launching the UHC as he led the nation in cerebrating this year’s Mashujaa Day.
Speaking during this ceremony which was held in Kericho County, Dr Ruto emphasized on the importance of having a healthy nation.
Healthy people epitomize a productive nation.
Today we are cerebrating the Mashujaa day. On this day, we remember the gallant and heroic role played by the freedom fighters to liberate our country from the bondage of colonialism.
Apart from striving to reclaim our lands and win the war against slavery, the fighters had flagged three other enemies- poverty, diseases and illiteracy.
They had high expectations that the new independent government of Kenya would prioritize on addressing these challenges.
However, it is worth noting the dream is yet to be realized more than 50 years later.
To me, this explains why President Ruto choose to inaugurate the UHC during the Mashujaa cerebration.
Former President Mwai Kibaki and his successor Uhuru Kenyatta governments had made similar interventions but ended up making little progress.
For Dr Ruto, I have no reason to doubt him. He said he will do things differently.
For him, it is not about talking. The most importance thing is to ensure the great ideas we have for transforming the lives of our people are actualized and become a reality.
Given the infrastructural foundation laid down so far, I would not expect ‘RutoCare’ to fail. This is coupled with the reforms that had been undertaken. Allow me to give some of the key highlights.
The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) had been replaced by the National Social Insurance Fund.
Contrary to the impression created by critics, this is not just the change the name.
The fund has been split into three : Primary Health Care, Digital Health and National Social Health.
Every Kenyan will access these services but this after being registered.
The children will be registered immediately after birth.
The monthly contribution will vary depending on the contributor’s financial status. The elderly and people with extreme disability will be exempted.
For the other of unemployed Kenyans, the contribution will be Sh300 or Sh500.
The employed people will pay more. The deductions on the salaries of those earning hefty perks will be as high as Sh5,000.
For the first time in the history of Kenya, President Ruto had recognized the critical role by Community Health Promoters (CHPs).
These people were doing a great job of attending to the people with health complications in the villages and urban slums but no one was appreciating their efforts.
I’m committed to change this narrative. I want these people to enjoy and be proud of their work.
As a government, we are currently undertaking the necessary reforms that would lead to the following. First, to ensure the health promoters were experienced and qualified. We will provide them with necessary medical equipment. Each promoter will take care of the 100 households.
Secondly, the government will start to pay them a monthly stipend.
During the launch of their tool kits, the President revealed that 100,000 Community Health Promoters (CHPs), who attended this event, have been recruited.
He pledged to formally approve their assignments during the Mashujaa day cerebration. The President kept his word.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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