Unmet pledges pile up as Ruto delivers third nation address

As President William Ruto delivers his third State of the Nation Address today, scrutiny is intensifying over the Kenya Kwanza manifesto he unveiled in 2022 — and how many of its short and medium-term promises remain unfulfilled three years into his term.

The Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), the administration’s 2022–27 blueprint, was anchored on three pillars: short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. Many of the short-term pledges, expected to be met by now, are lagging.

One of the most publicised was support for millions of boda boda riders. Motorcycles were to be financed through the Hustler Fund, but the promised units have not materialised. Although President Ruto has thrown significant energy into the affordable housing agenda, the targets in his medium-term plan remain far from reach.

Supply of new houses was expected to hit 250,000 units annually by now, and the share of affordable housing was to rise from 2 per cent in 2022 to 50 per cent next year. Low-cost mortgages of Sh10,000 a month and below were projected to expand from 30,000 to one million, backed by empowered developers.

Kenya Kwanza also promised to widen democratic space by opening Offices of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) in all 47 counties and by resisting political interference. Instead, the governing UDA party has been criticised for poaching MPs from the opposition Azimio coalition, contradicting the pledge to avoid meddling.

The government’s manufacturing commitments are also lagging. Regional pharmaceutical hubs were expected to be operational by now, alongside a liquefied natural gas storage facility in Mombasa. Leather industry clusters targeting pastoralist regions were meant to spur value addition but have not taken off.

Digital learning was another key promise. All schools were to be connected to the internet within three years, ensuring learners nationwide accessed digital content. Instead, Kenya Kwanza is still grappling with CBC implementation, grading structures and the new assessment system.

Food production was also earmarked for transformation. The administration promised to halt land fragmentation and develop a viable cotton supply chain, complete with ginneries in Nyanza, Western, Eastern and Coast. These plans have largely faded from public discourse. Farmers were also to receive adequate financing to reduce food imports, a goal yet to be met.

The diaspora, Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner, was promised a social welfare system by this point. The government has only established a diaspora desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Domestically, civil servants were to gain clear career progression pathways, and Parliament was to enact a right-to-work law. Access to trading licences, expanded creative spaces and improved trading locations were also billed as urgent.

In the transport sector, Kenya Kwanza pledged tax and financial incentives to ease conversion to electric vehicles, and completion of all roads under construction in 2022. Most of these targets remain distant.

Devolution was expected to be strengthened through adequate county funding and support for generating own-source revenue. Water supply was to be expanded through Public-Private Partnerships, shifting focus from mega dams to community projects. Residents of Turkana were promised abundant water through modern desalination and aquifer development — another unfulfilled pledge.

Health was also a major plank of the manifesto. Every location was to boast a functional level two facility, and all persons living with disabilities fully covered by the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). These outcomes remain partially achieved.

While Ruto campaigned as the “hustler candidate”, analysts argue that connection to the low-income base faded once in office. Some reversals of earlier policies have been labelled rushed, politically driven or retaliatory.

Earlier this year, The Standard reported that the President had missed most of his short- and medium-term targets.

The paper wrote that what Ruto viewed as his greatest asset — political outsider status — had become his biggest contradiction. Instead of dismantling the so-called system, critics say he has fixated on erasing the legacy of his predecessors.

Administrative watchdogs, rights groups and economists argue that if the pre-2022 system was flawed, then applying the same metrics to the current administration would yield an even harsher verdict. Though the President vowed to uphold the rule of law and end abductions and extrajudicial killings, such incidents have allegedly persisted or worsened.

His critics accuse the administration of favouring the elite, stalling projects initiated by past governments and costing taxpayers billions through politically motivated reversals. “He was part of previous administrations for 30 years,” economist Patrick Muinde told The Standard. “So while he was an outsider to the elites who have ruled since independence, he cannot truly be an outsider. What he mastered was a language that separated him from the elites and connected him to the masses.”

Historian Prof Macharia Munene argues that the President made too many promises without a clear roadmap for execution, yet continues to issue more. Ruto recently defended himself: “I didn’t overpromise. I raised our ambition. Many people here want us to be average.”

But Muinde counters that the difference between campaign rhetoric and governance reality is stark. “Candidate Ruto and President Ruto are two worlds apart,” he says. Analysts warn that the President appears to be relying heavily on buying political loyalty — a trend likely to intensify as the next election approaches.

The Hustler Fund, once touted as a crown jewel of the bottom-up agenda, is facing new questions after the Auditor-General reported that two-thirds of the loans issued are now non-performing. Youth, particularly digital creators promised expanded freedoms, also say they feel betrayed. The newly introduced Infrastructure, Youth Affairs, Youth Empowerment, Freedom of Expression and Cybercrime Bill has alarmed many, who fear it will shrink online space.

Lawyer Peter Wena argues the bill undermines freedom of expression, citing clause 10, which criminalises “false” content without a clear definition. Offenders could face up to three years in prison or Sh5 million in fines. While he acknowledges the need to combat misinformation, he says the bill’s vague language opens the door to dangerous enforcement.

As President Ruto takes the podium today, Kenyans will be weighing his words against the backdrop of ambitious promises, slow delivery, and intensifying criticism over his priorities.