Ruto Sounds Alarm Over Jobs as He Takes Aim at Opposition Ahead of 2027 Polls
President William Ruto Sounds the Alarm – 2 Million Jobs on the Line if Opposition Wins 2027 Election
President William Ruto delivered a stark warning that more than two million jobs are at risk if the opposition take power in the 2027 General Election, suggesting his rivals have plans to axe key government programmes.
Talking to a packed church service at ACK Church in Kapsabet, Nandi County on Sunday, Ruto leapt to the defence of affordable housing, the Social Health Authority (SHA) and initiatives supporting overseas employment, saying scrapping these schemes could have a disastrous impact on jobs and economic prospects.
Ruto claimed no less than 1.1 million jobs depend on the success of affordable housing, while another 680,000 young Kenyans could lose out on overseas employment opportunities and 300,000 could see their digital careers put on hold – all thanks to a change in government.
“Those guys trying to take us down want to take us back,” Ruto put it bluntly. “They’re saying they’ll shut down affordable housing – I don’t know what happens to all those young people who now have a chance to build a future.”
Ruto’s comments essentially put employment, healthcare and economic development right at the heart of the debate ahead of the 2027 elections, as his camp gets cracking to sell his record to voters.
Ruto Defends Affordable Housing Jobs Ahead of 2027 Election
Ruto insisted that the affordable housing programme was giving young Kenyans, literally thousands of them, a chance to get a job and build a life for themselves. And he warned that if it gets scrapped, those people will be left in a very tough spot.
According to the President, the housing scheme has created over 1.1 million jobs, making it a no-brainer for his economic agenda.
He also highlighted overseas employment opportunities and digital jobs as areas that will be badly hit if his opposition rivals get in and start dismantling government policies.
Ruto presented the figures to a church congregation, using them to drive home the point that Kenyans should think hard about the impact of changing the country’s development direction.
As the 2027 General Election draws near and leaders start jostling for position, one thing’s for sure, employment and making ends meet will be top of the agenda.
Ruto Defends SHA Amid Opposition Criticism
The President also jumped to the defence of the Social Health Authority, warning that getting rid of the healthcare programme would put families in a position where they’d have to resort to fundraising & selling whatever property they’ve got just to pay their hospital bills.
“Theyre saying they’ll scrap SHA on the grounds that people will be able to go back to selling cows, doing harambees & selling their property to pay their hospital bills – That really is a laugh ! Those people, god help ’em if they think they can take us back to that,” he said
Ruto slammed his political opponents for not having a clear cut development plan and questioned their ability to provide the kind of steady leadership the country needs.
“Working with these opposition people is like playing a game of poker with a deck of cards tha’s been shuffled a dozen times. Its all guesswork,” he said
The President urged voters to look beyond the election promises and take a good hard look at the actual policies and plans that competing parties are putting forward.
“Lets use our freedom and right to choose in a democracy to pick a better vision, a better plan and a better manifesto, that’s what democracy is all about,” he said
He added that if Kenyans continued to live in poverty then political freedom would be a pretty hollow thing.
Mudavadi, Ichung’wah Campaign for Ruto’s Re-Election
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi also fired a broadside at opposition leaders,questioning their credentials & ability to put together a top class political party.
Mudavadi went after a certain unnamed opposition figure who claimed he could set up a party in six months and then went on to market it and build up its structures.
“Someones been secretary general of ODM, so how can they sit there and tell us that they can build and launch a party in six months wait and see?” Mudavadi said
He was adamant that Kenya was in safe hands with Ruto at the helm and urged residents of Nandi County to get registered to vote as the next General Election draws near.
Meanwhile National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah was upbeat about the chances of the Mt Kenya region honouring its pledge to support Ruto for a second term.
“Uhuru kumi and Ruto kumi, that was a promise we started back in 2013, we gave Ruto his first term & now we still have five years to go for a second term,” Ichung’wah said
Those comments are part of the behind the scenes politicking that’s heating up ahead of the 2027 election with Ruto’s allies urging voters to give his administration another term.
Ruto Announces KEMSA and Healthcare Changes
Beyond the politicking, the President said the government had undergone a shake-up at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) to speed up the delivery of meds to public health facilities.
He said strengthening local health centres would help spread the load off referral hospitals and get more people access to basic healthcare.
The President reiterated his administrations commitment to sorting out the health sector, education, agriculture and infrastructure.
That was amidst an on going debate about healthcare financing & the SHA which remains a key part of the governments policy agenda
Government Plans Changes to Higher Education Funding
On the education front, Ruto dropped a bombshell – from January 2024, the government is going to tear up the current funding arrangements and start fresh. The plan is to get better support in place so that students aren’t denied the chance to go to university because their parents can’t afford it.
He made it pretty clear that he wants to make sure that the kids who have the brains to learn aren’t held back because they come from poor families. “It’s not right that our kids’ education should be all about how much money their parents have, it’s about how much the child is capable of learning,” he said bluntly.
The idea is to knock down some of the financial barriers that stop students from less well-off backgrounds getting a shot at higher education. But the details of exactly how all this will work remain pretty sketchy at the moment.
Ruto Cites Rising Milk Prices and Road Projects
Ruto also took the opportunity to talk up his governments performance in the dairy sector. He pointed out that milk prices have gone from KSh35 a litre back in 2022 to KSh65 in October and he’s demanding the dairy processors make sure farmers get paid up front on the first of every month.
He also got in a word in defence of the housing levy, saying it’s helped the government get on with building projects right across the country. And he boasted that more than 6,000 kilometres of roads are currently being worked on, all part of the plan to get the country’s infrastructure up to scratch and drive growth.
Ruto wrapped things up by calling for national unity and promising that his government will serve Kenyans from all walks of life, regardless of their politics. He reckons that national transformation is all about working together, with the government, local councils and the public all pulling in the same direction.
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Ruto Sounds Alarm Over Jobs as He Takes Aim at Opposition Ahead of 2027 Polls
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