National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has reaffirmed his loyalty to President William Ruto, attributing it to the trust and confidence placed in him to lead the critical Finance docket.
Speaking at Ndhiwa Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) grounds in Homa Bay County on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting on regional development, Mbadi expressed gratitude for the President’s decision to appoint him.
“The President can give you any ministry, but not the Ministry of Finance. The kind of confidence and the risk he (Ruto) took to appoint me makes it very difficult for me to betray him,” Mbadi stated.
The CS emphasized his focus on delivering results over political rhetoric. “Mine is not to force people or chest-thump that President Ruto should get another term. We are not in that debate for now,” he said.
Mbadi reiterated his commitment to addressing pressing financial challenges rather than engaging in early political campaign discussions. “What I want is to work for him (Ruto), to fix what is not working. Once we have corrected and improved things, we can tell Kenyans that we deserve another opportunity,” he added.
Highlighting key financial achievements under his leadership, Mbadi noted significant progress in reducing Kenya’s budget deficit and stabilizing the currency.
“When I took over as the CS for Finance, the challenges were serious but not as bad as when the last regime left office. The budget deficit to GDP was 8.1 per cent. We have reduced it to 4.3 per cent, and by next year, it will be 3.8 per cent. In the next two years, it must be below 3 per cent,” he explained.
He also addressed the volatility of the Kenyan shilling, which had traded as high as Sh160 against the US dollar earlier this year. The shilling has since stabilized at Sh129 per dollar.
Additionally, Mbadi highlighted a 1.5 per cent reduction in government borrowing since he assumed office, underscoring his commitment to fiscal discipline and economic stability.
