Ruto unveils new development vision as 'hustlers' struggle with living costs

President William Ruto on Thursday unveiled a new national development framework to succeed Kenya's Vision 2030, urging citizens to join a "national conversation" about the country's future - even as opinion polls show two-thirds of Kenyans believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction and trust in his leadership has collapsed to a net minus 39 per cent. With the General Election scheduled for August 2027, the embattled president faces mounting pressure to deliver on campaign promises of jobs and lower living costs that many voters say remain unfulfilled nearly four years after he swept to power on a "bottom-up" economic agenda. "Great nations are never built by chance. They are built by design, by discipline and by deliberate, focused national purpose," Ruto said in a nationally televised address from State House, invoking comparisons with Asian tigers like South Korea - whose per capita GDP now exceeds $36,000 compared to Kenya's $2,400. The new vision, to be shaped through public consultations beginning August 12, aims to translate constitutional guarantees on health, housing, food, water and education into "measurable development outcomes". Ruto said Kenya could become a "prosperous, high-income, industrialised and globally competitive nation within one generation". But for many Kenyans, the ambitious rhetoric rings hollow. Ruto won the 2022 election on a pledge to champion "hustlers" - small-scale traders, boda boda riders and unemployed youth. His Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda promised cheaper food, millions of jobs and universal healthcare. Instead, households have faced soaring prices for maize flour, fuel and kerosene. The government removed fuel and maize subsidies while introducing new taxes that critics say disproportionately hurt low-income families. A TIFA survey released in June found that 64 per cent of Kenyans say their family's economic situation is worse today than when Ruto took office, while only 19 per cent report being better off. Seventy-four percent believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. "Economic sentiment remains fragile, with nearly two-thirds of households still reporting that they are worse off compared to the last election, suggesting that perceptions of recovery have yet to translate into lived experience," the survey noted. Only 29 per cent of Kenyans expressed positive trust in Ruto, giving him a net trust rating of minus 39 per cent. The president pointed to restored macroeconomic stability: foreign reserves above $15 billion, inflation falling, and Kenya ranked as Africa's most competitive economy by the 2025 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking. Last year, Kenya attracted a record $3.2 billion in foreign direct investment, more than double the 2022 figure, he noted. Yet these figures have done little to ease daily hardship. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics' Economic Survey 2026 showed that while the economy added jobs, the overwhelming majority were in the informal sector. Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high at about 15 percent. Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter