President Ruto: Kenya must become an upper-middle-income country in the next 10 years

Speaking at State House, Nairobi, on Monday while hosting a delegation of Friends Church Quakers, President Ruto said Kenya has made steady economic and social progress and is in a stronger position than it was in 2012, despite the numerous challenges the country and its citizens have faced over the years.

He expressed confidence in his ambitious reforms in the housing, education and health sectors, which he says will improve livelihoods and stabilise the economy and shape his long-term development agenda.

“Our country is blessed. I know at times you hear so many things that even shock you, but we are so blessed. We are not where we were in 2012 and we keep on moving from one level to another. In 2022 we had major economic challenges," he noted. 

"It is our time, where we are now we have fixed the economy. We have plans on health, housing, education and it is our time as Kenyans to plan a better destiny for our country."

The Head of State further argued that improved economic performance has strengthened the country's foreign exchange reserves and enhanced its ability to meet debt obligations

We have lowered the exchange rate and I can speak with authority that the economy is stable and we have no threat on our nation defaulting on a debts. We have enough foreign exchange in our economy,” Ruto stated.

President Ruto also noted that while the Constitution envisions economic development, Kenya requires a legally anchored long-term development framework to guarantee continuity across successive governments.

He criticized the formulation of Vision 2030, claiming the blueprint was developed with limited public participation and without a legal framework to guide its implementation.

The President officially launched the process of developing Kenya’s next long-term development blueprint to succeed Vision 2030 — Vision 2060 — unveiling plans for a nationwide public participation exercise that he says will shape the country’s future beyond the current strategy.

Opposition leaders led by the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper Patriotic Front’s Kalonzo Musyoka trashed the proposal for a new development charter as "wishful thinking."

However, leaders allied to the broad-based government have thrown their weight behind Vision 2060, describing it as a transformative blueprint that will accelerate Kenya's journey towards becoming a first-world economy.

President Ruto has maintained that achieving the country's long-term development ambitions will require collective national effort, saying the shortcomings experienced during the formulation of Vision 2030 should not be repeated.