This week, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) led by presidential candidate and current vice-president, William Ruto, presented its manifesto for the elections. Previously, at the beginning of last month, the Azimio coalition, led by Raila Odinga, had also communicated its promises for the first 100 days of its presidency, should it win.
Ruto’s manifesto is based on five pillars: agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), housing and settlements, health, digital highways and the creative economy, on which he pledges to spend a total of 1 trillion Kenyan shillings over five years if he wins the presidential vote on 9 August.
Vice-President William Ruto also declared his intention to restore Kenya’s external creditworthiness, which has fallen and caused lenders to charge high interest on loans, adding to the already huge public debt. In his manifesto for Kenya Kwanza, launched yesterday, Ruto also noted that the drop in creditworthiness could also scare away external creditors, forcing the government to borrow from the already expensive domestic market and crowd out the private sector. The poster noted that the increase in interest rates for Eurobonds, which the government had turned to a few years ago because they were cheaper than domestic rates, risks further burdening the public debt and further impacting domestic market interest rates.
As for the Azimio coalition, in presenting its blueprint for the future, ODM leader Raila Odinga outlined priority interventions that he said would transform the lives of Kenyans. In presenting his manifesto, the former Prime Minister also pledged to transfer 6,000 shillings per month to needy families in his first 100 days.
Raila promised that his government will apply zero tolerance to corruption and expand the space for media expression.
Regarding the welfare state, the leader of the political coalition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya promised that he will increase universal healthcare and free education, from kindergarten to college and university. As president, Raila said he will increase funding to the 47 county governments, ensure food security, provide water to all homes and increase jobs.
