In a stern address to his newly sworn-in cabinet, Kenyan President William Ruto laid out a bold and ambitious agenda, warning his team of ministers that failure would not be tolerated.
“The people of Kenya have made their expectations known in bold terms. They have also made their intolerance for failure, inefficiency, corruption, and ineptitude equally clear,” Ruto told the assembled cabinet secretaries.
Ruto made it abundantly clear that his administration would take “unprecedented steps” to accelerate the country’s economic transformation, with a relentless focus on integrity, efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity. He called on his team to be “servant leaders” and “effective stewards of the people’s interest and dependable custodians of their resources.”
The president said he has already engaged with parliamentary leadership to expedite the enactment of a robust conflict of interest bill, which he is determined to sign into law. Ruto also vowed to make full use of legal and institutional structures to promote the efficiency and efficacy of anti-corruption investigations and prosecutions.
“Beginning in the 2025/2026 financial year, we shall adopt a zero-based budgeting system to reorient the budgeting and expenditure frameworks of government,” Ruto announced. He also pledged to digitize procurement processes and overhaul the VAT refund system to reduce opportunities for graft.
Addressing the country’s economic challenges, the president said the new cabinet would collaborate with parliament to develop legislative measures aimed at promoting local manufacturing, value addition, and job creation through import restrictions on products that can be competitively produced domestically.
Ruto’s address struck a notably bipartisan tone, as he praised the “patriotism” of leaders from across the political spectrum who had participated in the consultations that led to the formation of this “broad-based government.” He said this “alliance of rivals” would be crucial in harnessing the collective knowledge, expertise, and political capital needed to transform Kenya.
“We stand at the beginning of a new chapter of our country’s governance and development,” Ruto declared. “The women and men who have been appointed to serve the nation in the reconstituted cabinet have today embarked on a mission that cannot and must not fail.”
The president was unequivocal in his message to the new cabinet, telling them in no uncertain terms that their “own interest” must never come before their “duties” to the Kenyan people. He pledged his full support, but made clear that it would be contingent on their ability to deliver on the government’s ambitious agenda.
“I give you my assurance of my full support in discharging your mandate and in executing a re-imagined and catalysed transformation agenda,” Ruto said. “I have already given my undertaking to be the formal steward of public resources and embrace my accountability for its proper use. Therefore, it is important to make it clear that my support for you ends if it conflicts with my accountability to the people of Kenya.”
In closing, the president called on Kenyan citizens to give the new cabinet a chance and support them in delivering on their mandate. “I ask citizens of our great nation to give a chance to these great men and women, to this new cabinet, and to support them to deliver on the mandate that has been given to them constitutionally and as they perform their duties in the best interest of our country,” he said.
