President William Ruto has announced choices and steps made by his administration over the last 3 years to bring back the marginalised majority back to the heart of our nation through the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)
In his address during this year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations, President Ruto noted that although the nation had achieved political independence, and the democratic human rights and rule of law expanded through the constitution, Kenya had still undermined the milestones through marginalisation of the majority.
In Agriculture, President Ruto announced that for the first time in Kenya’s history over 7.2 million farmers have been brought into the single national digital database.
The digital platform according to Ruto became and is the backbone of targeted support including subsidized input, affordable credit and modern extension services reaching real farmers directly.
“For years we spoke of Agriculture as the bedrock of the economy and farmers as pillars. The truth is we did not really know them. We now know who they are, where they are, what they grow and that they need”, he said.
By strengthening value chains, co-operatives, irrigation and processing, President Ruto said his administration has built systems that work for the agricultural sector.
Through lowering the cost of production, the government has brought the price of fertilizer down and has restored profitability to the small holder farmer who produces over 70 percent of the country’s food.
“The results are undeniable. Maize production is up, prices of flour is down, tea sector is rising, coffee is rebounding, dairy is expanding and the sugar industry has been revamped”, Ruto said.
In Education, President Ruto confirmed that his administration has so far hired 76,000 teachers and is expected to bring the total number to 100,000 hired teachers by next month, which is the largest recruitment of teachers in Kenyan history.
He also noted that the Kenya Kwanza government has built 23,000 new classrooms and 1,600 laboratories are under construction across the country.
Additionally, nearly 500,000 students have already benefited from the funding model, students who according to the President, under previous systems would have been excluded by policies that failed to recognise them.
In his speech, Ruto said the reform has lifted the financial burden from families and has enabled students to choose courses that align with their talents, aspirations and with the needs of the nation.
“Through the student centred funding model, we have placed the learner in the heart of our reforms. For the first time in our history, scholarships and loans now follow needs and merit ensuring every deserving student has a chance and a just and equal opportunity to pursue their dreams”, he said.
“Through BETA, we have consolidated the gains of political independence and democratic freedoms won. Through deliberate social engineering we have built systems that ensure no kenyan is left behind”, the President added.
