As the Kenya Kwanza administration continues to battle public discontent over economic hardship, insecurity and police brutality, President William Ruto yesterday convened a two-day retreat for top government officials, signalling more than a routine midterm review meeting for his regime.

The out-of-State House outing was attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet Secretaries, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor and a host of president’s advisers led by Makau Mutua. 

Amid the mounting threats from the opposition of making him a one-term president, Ruto told members of the Executive that he is not focused on the next election but on transforming the country as per his promise to Kenyans.

Ruto acknowledged that transforming the country has been bumpy, demanding and requiring him to make difficult decisions.

“Even so, we are proud of those decisions that are now paying dividends. We remain focused as we build synergies that will spur our economic growth,” Ruto said when opened the Third National Executive Retreat at KCB Leadership Centre, Kajiado County, adding that they were there to reflect on where the administration had come from, where they were and agree on the future.

Ruto highlighted reforms he initiated in health, housing, education, energy, and agriculture as timely, saying they have transformed the lives of ordinary Kenyans. The president said the meeting discussed seven thematic areas that the government has concentrated her efforts on including economic stabilisation and intervention, health sector, creation of jobs, education sector, digitisation of government services and agriculture.

University funding model

On education, the president said his government has reviewed the university funding model and agreed to introduce a new means-testing formula to ensure that all students are treated fairly.

“This will ensure that every child who comes from a poor background gets up to 90 per cent funding. Those who were placed in wrong bands will be reconsidered,” he disclosed.

On the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), the president disclosed they have streamlined the structures and process to weed out fraud. To this end, they have closed down 800 facilities involved in fraud. So far, he said, 5.7 million Kenyans have been treated under Social Health Authority (SHA) at a cost of Sh49 billion. As part of the reforms, the President said SHA will henceforth pay for drugs directly to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa). 

On job creation, he said 250,000 Kenyans are working under the Affordable Housing scheme. So far 150,000 houses are under construction while 11,000 have been completed. Another 700,000 are in the pipeline.

The government has also created jobs through diaspora where 400,000 Kenyans are working. In the digital space, 180,000 people have been employed.

However, analysts said the timing of the retreat points to an attempt by a beleaguered president to find solutions to the escalating crisis facing every sector in government.

Constitutional lawyer Newton Mathenge noted that not a single ministry in Ruto’s government currently lacks an issue with the public.

Mathenge asserted that it was necessary for Ruto to hold a broad meeting of the Executive away from the ordinary State House cabinet meetings in the wake of dwindling public trust over poor service delivery from the government. 

The success of the retreat Mathenge said could only be realised if the president accorded his Cabinet Secretaries the opportunity to speak at free will about the government’s performance.

“The Cabinet Secretaries and the advisers should not fear the president. They should actually tell him the truth and he should be ready to reason,” the lawyer said.

Unless something new emanates from the retreat that ends today, Mathenge said that there would be different from other cabinet or high-level government meetings that Ruto hosts in State House.

“Cabinet meets regularly, but Karen’s meeting appears to have been given more relevance and coverage. So, is it that the president is looking for something that he has not been finding in the normal cabinet meetings?” he wondered.

According to Mathenge, President Ruto must make the most out of the meeting with senior government officials and get feedback from his cabinet secretaries, who are number one, his advisers. 

The issue of police brutality, the lawyer said, is just one among many other issues that the citizens have with this government.

“In terms of collective responsibility, as he has been advocating, it looks bad on the government when police shoot someone in broad daylight, even if he has allowed them to enjoy independence at work,” he clarified.

He also reminisced about the atrocities committed on Gen-Z protestors last year. Other ministries, including Public Service, Mathenge said are tainted with employees with fake academic papers, which waters down the quality of service they deliver to Kenyans.

Ministry of Education he said is still facing challenges in the recruitment of teachers and the roll out of the higher education funding model.

Additionally, the lawyer said that Kenyans are dissatisfied with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) under the Ministry of Health.

As the Kenya Kwanza marks 1,000 days, Mathenge said that the regime is getting low rankings among Kenyans due to lack of adherence to constitutionalism and rule of law. By Samuel Kariuki, People Daily