President William Ruto has hatched a plan to go back to the ‘hustlers’, a group that that propelled him to the presidency in 2022, but who surveys now say are the most disillusioned following heavy tax burden and high cost of living.
The Sunday Nation has learnt that the plan is hinged on an order by President Ruto to task some of his campaign coordinators across the 290 constituencies he used in the run-up to the 2022 elections to organise women groups and boda boda people into groups and form Saccos.
In the plan, each county will have 30 women groups that will be shared among the respective constituencies, sources privy to the arrangements say. Upon forming the groups, they will be transformed into Saccos and empowered economically.
The programme will start in the Coast region counties before spreading to other counties.
The tentative schedule lists Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu as the counties that will pilot the plan. After that, President Ruto together with top officials of the Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises will meet the combined groups from all the five counties.
The elections coordinators, particular those who contested on UDA tickets and lost but have now been rewarded and serving in various positions, will be used to steer the process.
According to the plan, once the coordinators and the regional leaders have organised all the women groups, President Ruto together with Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui will meet all the groups together not only to dish them with capital to start off but will be exposed to opportunities that exist.
Apart from the Saccos, the plan will also involve creating awareness among the youth about the opportunities that exist not only in government but also abroad and assisting with how to go about the opportunities especially those abroad.
This is one the reasons President Ruto is reported to have told Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to fasttrack the passport backlog at the Immigration Department, which has denied thousands of Kenyans job opportunities abroad during a retreat in Naivasha to review the performance of Cabinet Secretaries.
The issue is said to have stemmed from Mondays’ meeting where the UDA caucus complained about not being informed of 2,500 nursing jobs in Saudi Arabia for which only 500 applications had been received.
The arduous process Kenyans are subjected to at long passport queues is said to limit the number of Kenyans aspiring to practice their skills abroad.
President Ruto also took issue with MPs who are not spreading news of opportunities that exist abroad and other government plans.
The President's Political advisor Karisa Nzai confirmed to Sunday Nation of the plan saying many people do not understand government policies, plans and achievements — leading to criticism from the public.
“We are going back to that person on the ground who campaigned for the President but now feels he has been abandoned by the government. There are a lot of opportunities that exist and maybe they are now aware,” Mr Nzai said.
“The government can accommodate everyone as opportunities abound. That is why the other day, the President said issuance of passports should be fast tracked,” Mr Nzai added.
Unemployment, especially among the youth is a major concern to government. “Is it that people don’t know the opportunities exist or they know but don’t know how to go about them? The duty of these engagements is to unlock the opportunities for them that is why the government insisted that there should be an ICT centre in each ward,” Mr Nzai said.
When campaigning, Dr Ruto portrayed himself as a hustler with all the solutions to deliver the common man from the yoke of the dynasties of yesteryear.
Things have, however, taken a new turn as the hustlers suffer with the majority reeling from the high cost of living and taxes.
A recent survey by Tifa showed that supporters of President William Ruto are more disappointed with the government’s performance. The poll rated President William Ruto’s on key policy areas and found out that Kenya Kwanza supporters believe the government has performed poorly especially in tackling employment, cost of living, creating jobs and fighting corruption.
The report showed that none out of 10 Kenyans have been forced to adjust their spending habits to cushion themselves against high cost of living.
At a Parliamentary Group meeting held at State House a few months ago, it is reported that MPs told the President they are finding it difficult to talk about government policies in their constituencies but were were urged to persevere.
