President Ruto defends economic record, cites inflation drop and shilling stability

President William Ruto on Thursday defended his administration’s handling of the economy, telling Parliament that Kenya has moved from crisis to stability through what he described as deliberate fiscal and monetary reforms.

Speaking during his State of the Nation address at a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate, the President said the country was in severe distress when he took office.

“At a time like this in 2022, Kenya was in distress. Inflation had soared almost to double digits. A fuel shortage threatened to paralyse our economy as oil marketers struggled to access dollars,” he said.

He added that the shilling “was in free fall,” foreign reserves had fallen to historic lows, and debt service was consuming “more than half of all our revenues.”

Ruto said his administration responded by restoring fiscal discipline, scrapping subsidies, tightening public expenditure and improving revenue collection.

According to the President, inflation has since eased from 9.6% in 2022 to 4.6% last month, while the shilling has “stabilised at Ksh.129 to the dollar for nearly two years.”

He also pointed to the recent Eurobond repayment, saying it showed that “Kenya honours its obligations.”

Ruto further stated that Kenya’s GDP has grown from $115 billion in 2021 to $136 billion, moving the country from the eighth- to the sixth-largest economy in Africa. He attributed the growth to “deliberate choices, disciplined execution, and strategic reforms.”

He said foreign reserves have risen to “over $12 billion, the highest in independent Kenya,” and cited projections by major global financiers forecasting growth of up to 5.8% in 2026.

The President also highlighted an improvement in Kenya’s sovereign credit rating: “Standard & Poor’s has upgraded Kenya’s sovereign credit rating from ‘B-’ to a firm ‘B’; our first upward revision in years.”

The Head of State reported that foreign direct investment has tripled from $463 million in 2021 to $1.5 billion in 2024, and that over 300,000 new businesses - including 500 foreign firms - have been registered in the last three years.

On the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), he said investor wealth has grown by more than Ksh.1 trillion this year, adding that the bourse is “on track for its strongest performance in over a decade.”

He dismissed criticism from the opposition, accusing them of misrepresenting the country’s economic situation.

“Our critics; the high priests of eternal pessimism, who criticise without responsibility and tear down without offering alternatives, will want you to believe that our economy is going in the wrong direction,” he said,

“But while anyone may speak their mind, and that is the beauty of our democracy, no one is entitled to manufacture self-serving falsehoods and traffic them as facts. And facts are exactly what I present today; clear, verifiable, and indisputable.”