MPs Babu Owino, Ndindi Nyoro tear into President Ruto's Singapore vision

Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro and his Embakasi East counterpart Babu Owino have questioned President William Ruto’s push to model Kenya’s economic transformation on Singapore, arguing that the two countries are fundamentally different in size, structure and economic realities.

Speaking during an interview on JKLive on Wednesday, Nyoro cautioned against benchmarking Kenya with other economies that are not comparable, saying economic assessments must be grounded in similar conditions.

“In economics, just to bring it in terms of real life, if you’re a banana farmer, you can’t compare how well you’re doing with another banana farmer by using oranges or pears,” said Nyoro.

He added that countries should only be compared where there is economic homogeneity, asking whether Kenya and Singapore share similar dynamics.

Nyoro pointed to the sharp disparity in wealth levels, noting that Singapore’s GDP per capita stands at about USD 90,000 compared to Kenya’s roughly USD 3,000.

“The point is that the economies are fashioned very differently,” he noted. 

He further argued that Singapore’s growth was anchored on heavy State involvement in the economy, particularly in its early years.

Citing the Singapore Exchange, Nyoro said government-linked entities such as Temasek dominate ownership among top companies, a model of State capitalism that contrasts with Kenya’s current push to divest from State-owned enterprises.

According to Nyoro, Kenya’s economic structure and aspirations align more closely with South Korea than Singapore.

He noted that Kenya and South Korea have comparable population sizes, both around 50 million, unlike Singapore’s population of just over six million. 

Nyoro also highlighted how Asian tiger economies deliberately nurtured private enterprise, developed labour-intensive industries before upgrading to capital and technology-intensive sectors, and relied heavily on foreign direct investment. 

He warned that Kenya often confuses remittances with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); a term which refers to an investment made by an entity in one country into a business interest located in another country. 

“Remittances are consumer-driven. FDI is investment-driven,” he said, adding that none of the successful Asian economies grew through patronage or by mixing political power with economic incentives.

On governance, Nyoro said corruption that distorts economic incentives remains a major obstacle, while human capital development should be Kenya’s most critical focus if it hopes to achieve sustainable growth.

MP Babu Owino echoed the criticism, focusing on the stark physical and demographic differences between the two countries.

He noted that Singapore covers just 736 square kilometres, roughly the size of Nairobi, while Kenya spans about 580,000 square kilometres. 

“Kenya is about 800 times bigger than Singapore,” said Owino, adding that Kenya’s population of 58 million far exceeds Singapore’s 6.1 million.

Owino questioned how Kenya could realistically mirror Singapore’s model given these differences.

“How else will the 58 million Kenyans fit into Singapore which is smaller?” he asked, arguing that Kenya already has a homegrown development blueprint.

He cited former President Mwai Kibaki’s Vision 2030, which targeted double-digit economic growth anchored on three pillars: economic growth through tourism, manufacturing and micro, small and medium enterprises; social development through education, healthcare and sanitation; and political reforms focusing on justice and electoral systems.

According to Owino, the failure to prioritise foundational issues such as security, police reforms, macroeconomic stability, infrastructure and land reforms has undermined Kenya’s progress. 

"We ran away from all that and told you about bottom up. We cannot talk about Singapore if we can't provide the basic needs to a common human being," he stated. 

The remarks by the two MPs add to a growing debate over the suitability of Singapore as a model for Kenya’s development, with critics urging the government to prioritise implementing the bottom-up economic agenda before making aspirational comparisons.