President William Ruto took advantage of his United Nations General Assembly maiden speech to root for his bottom-up economic model.
The president said that building an economy from the bottom ensures the inclusion of all individuals, including the marginalised.
“Building back better from the bottom upwards is, essentially, about including the marginalised working majority in the economic mainstream. The bottom billion relentlessly wage their daily battle for survival in a crowded arena characterised by scarcity of opportunity and generally precarious existence,” he said.
Read: No Subsidy For Unga, Ruto Tells Kenyans
The president added that there is a need to strengthen people at the lowest economic tier, referring to ‘hustlers’, who are always overlooked during policy formulations.
He said that they endure adverse economic and labour conditions to take part in the building of a country, hence the need for policies that count on them.
“Invisible to policymakers and beyond the reach of many public services, these hustlers take nothing for granted, surviving overwhelming odds and frequently succeeding greatly,” said Ruto.
Ruto also took the opportunity to highlight various challenges facing Kenya and Africa in general, calling upon the member states to put concerted efforts and face the challenges in unison.
Read: To Meet Job Creation Goal, President Ruto Will Need To Reform Capital Markets
He addressed the ravaging drought that has affected not only Kenya but also other parts of the world.
The head of state added that 3.1 million Kenyans were in need of food, a situation caused by inadequate rainfall over the past couple of years.
“The northern, arid, and semi-arid rangelands of our country have been gravely impacted by drought whose severity has not been experienced in 40 years. 3.1 million residents of these ASALs are now severely food-insecure on account of scarce rainfall over three consecutive seasons, leading to poor crop and pasture,” he said.
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