Speaking on Tuesday during the celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) at State House, Nairobi, the President said dependence on foreign borrowing exposes countries to demands that may not align with their national priorities.

"In my own experience, in just three years, I have seen how we can mobilise domestic resources instead of going to borrow money from people. They subject you to all manner of things. You know, 'Do this, go and pass this law.' How about if you want to pass the sexuality law? Go and do this, go and do this. ," Ruto said. 

The Head of State made the remarks as he called on African countries to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and reduce reliance on external financing, arguing that doing so would give governments greater control over their development agenda.

To illustrate his point, Ruto pointed to Kenya's Affordable Housing Programme, saying previous attempts to secure financing for the project from external lenders had not succeeded.

He said the government instead opted to establish the Housing Fund, financed through mandatory contributions from employees and matching contributions by employers, enabling the country to raise resources locally.

"We decided, as Kenyans, that we are going to build a huge portfolio of a housing programme. It has been in our books for many years. We tried to borrow money from different places to implement the programme and it was not possible," he said.

"Then we decided that we are going to put together a Housing Fund and we are going to pay 1.5 per cent of our income into that fund, with employers contributing as well. Today, in just three years, we have built a portfolio of KSh1.2 trillion."

Ruto maintained that Africa has the capacity to finance its own development and should reduce its dependence on external lenders.

"There is space for us to do more ourselves. We cannot delegate what we can do for ourselves to others. It is not fair," he said.

The President added that African leaders should take greater responsibility for the continent's development instead of attributing its challenges to external actors.

"We made a very conscious decision that we must stop blaming others for our own underdevelopment. Nobody owes us anything. We owe it to ourselves. African development is possible, and we must take charge of it," he said. Citizen Digital