It has been three budget readings since President Dr William Ruto took power in 2022 and inherited a badly scorched economy against the Covid-19 pandemic as well as unprecedented prolonged famine.
It is important to take stock of what have been little gains and major economic wins since he took the reins of power of this East African economic giant.
For beginners, the Ruto administration has taken bold fiscal steps and a robust international policy to help the economy stabilise and grow.
Needless to mention, the GDP growth rate this year is above 5 per cent, one of the highest in the world.
Last month’s budget exceeding Sh 4 trillion is a crucial indicator of a government committed to see an expanding economy taking care of the macroeconomic needs and challenges of its citizenry.
One of the most outstanding interventions by President Ruto has been the change of subsidy from supply end to production after he redirected funds from fuel subsidy to fertiliser subsidy.
This one move saw the drop of fertiliser retail price by a whopping 67 per cent. Fertiliser was retailing at Sh 6,500 a bag but today it is as low as Sh 2,500 per bag. The end result has been improvement in the harvest of maize by nearly 30 per cent and a drastic reduction of 2kg maize flour from Sh 250 to Sh 100 during last bumper harvest but has found an equilibrium at Sh 150 today.
Another positive impact has been in the increased production of sugar that saw Kenya stop importation of this important breakfast sweetener for the very first time due to self-sufficiency figures.
Similarly, the price of tea and coffee to the farmer has increased threefold from Sh 50 per kg to Sh 150 per kg. This is a new high in the history of Kenya’s green gold.
This is the result of streamlining value chain processes including the auction market as well as efficiency at the collection points including mills.
A similar result in value for farm produce is in the milk sector with price paid to farmers per litre has nearly doubled with increased capacity to hold milk during rainy season helping to hold excess production taking care of previous waste.
Indicatively, there has been a 13 per cent growth in livestock production and a huge 92 per cent in milk production.
Apart from agriculture, the government has scored big on the money sector with interventions on the interest rates on the treasury bills. The lowering of interest has helped ease pressure on money products availing it to the private sector that badly requires it for investment and job creation.
Although commercial banks have been slow in reflecting the huge reductions to provide an optimal rate for private sector to access funds.
Crucially, since Kenya is a net importer looking at her balance of payments, foreign exchange becomes an integral determinant of the economy. The treasury through the central bank has made interventions that have seen the shilling strengthen against major foreign currencies. Notably the US dollar has weakened against the Kenya shilling from Sh 160.8 to Sh 129.19 to the dollar. This economic stability run has also seen inflation drop from 9.2 per cent to the current 3.5 in the monthly Consumer Price Index.
Youth unemployment remains the single most challenge facing Kenya today. Steps have been taken to address this including the establishment of the Hustlers Fund that mitigated the unprecedented usury by shylock online loan providers.
The Hustle Fund has so far provided cheap loans to micro businesses and to over 6 million Kenyans since its establishment.
The Women Fund has been increased from Sh 4.5 billion to 13.5 billion making credit affordable and more accessible to the women folk.
In a deliberate move by the Ministry of Labour and for the many foreign trips by President Ruto, there has been a push to create job opportunities in the diaspora given excess human capital due a vibrant education system in place.
This has seen an increase in labour migration, with overseas job placements growing by over 1,200 per cent, from 14,651 jobs in 2022 to 202,125 jobs in 2025.
At the same time the country has registered a 323 per cent surge in digital jobs, growing from 41,382 units in 2022 to 182,568 in 2025.
Over 250,000 jobs have been created in the revolutionary Affordable Housing Project where 130,000 housing units are under construction.
Notably some houses are already completed including 1,800 units at the Mukuru site.
Similar jobs have been created with the completion of 6,000 km of roads and maintenance of over 94,000 km of roads.
But the story of success of this administration would never be complete without exhaling the quintessential SHA health programme. The Medicare has seen more efficient approvals and higher amounts taking care of crucial surgery, diagnostics and treatment that were hitherto unaffordable to many Kenyan households and individuals.
Having had some teething problems at its start, the scheme is now working well and has hushed naysayers forever.
In the welfare front the government has also increased the Inua Jamii programme by 66 per cent as well as increasing monies to orphans and vulnerable children by 65 per cent.
Yet the story of Kenya Airways, the Pride of Africa airline, is a sweet one after the airline made profits for the first time in a decade.
Recently the airline has announced the successful repairs and servicing of its three Dreamliners that is set to increase capacity by nearly 40 per cent.
These, and many stories contribute to the positive overlook that has seen Kenya overtake Ethiopia as an economic powerhouse in recent rankings.
