Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has praised President William Ruto’s administration for what he describes as significant progress in stabilizing the economy and ensuring development reaches every part of the country.
Speaking in Migori on Sunday, Mbadi reflected on his early days at the Treasury, saying the country was emerging from a severe cash crunch that had affected recurrent expenditure and even debt repayments.
“When I first got to the Treasury last year, there were days I would sit with my PS and the Director General of Accounting Services, and we genuinely didn’t know if we would manage to pay salaries,” Mbadi said. “We couldn’t come out and tell Kenyans we were struggling to meet salary obligations, and we weren’t even sure we could service our loans. That uncertainty is part of what caused the instability you saw with the shilling last year.”
Mbadi urged critics of the government to acknowledge the progress made, arguing that the changes in the economy are already visible.
“This economy has been in other hands before. So when some people say nothing has been achieved, it’s simply not honest. We have even de-risked the 2027 loan,” he added.
According to Mbadi, the Treasury’s ability to turn around the economy is largely due to President Ruto’s support.
He also highlighted the upgrade of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital from a Level Five to a Level Six facility as one of the administration’s major successes. The hospital’s budget has increased from Ksh 500 million to Ksh 3 billion one of several investments he says the government has made in the Nyanza region.
Appealing to the Luo community to support President Ruto, Mbadi noted that Migori County is set to benefit from development projects worth Ksh 2.3 billion.
