Ruto cabinet under pressure to deliver key projects ahead of 2027

By Newsflash Writer

President William Ruto’s Cabinet is facing a tight deadline after the Head of State issued fresh directives on flagship initiatives he wants completed before the end of his first term.

Ministers have been given two weeks to present comprehensive implementation plans for priority government projects.

During a two-day National Executive Retreat held in Karen, Dr Ruto instructed his Cabinet secretaries and top government officials to treat project execution as a top priority, warning that failure was not an option.

At the same forum, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki directed all ministries, departments, and agencies to submit detailed proposals and execution blueprints within 14 days for initiatives that must be finalized in the remaining two-and-a-half years of the current administration. President Ruto also emphasized the need for transparency and accountability, particularly in procurement.

E-Procurement push

“Starting July 1, all government procurement processes must be conducted entirely through our E-platform. This is a directive, not a suggestion, to every accounting officer to curb fraud and avoid inflated procurement costs that drain public resources,” said the President. “Procurement must be transparent. We should be able to track how many bidders participated, who won the tender, and how much they were awarded.” Kenya has long aspired to fully digitize procurement, with the initiative dating back to the Uhuru Kenyatta administration, though previous attempts yielded little success.

Attention now turns to the President and his team, with the new deadline just over a week away. Dr Ruto also ordered that public servants be held personally responsible for mismanagement of public funds, especially where procurement leads to waste or losses.

“To prevent what the Auditor General flagged, the National Treasury and the Head of Public Service must issue new guidelines that establish personal accountability. If an officer awards a tender knowing it’s unnecessary, they must bear the consequences,” he said. “You can’t justify awarding a contract for equipment in a hospital that hasn’t been built. That’s how we end up losing taxpayers’ money through waste and neglect.”

Challenges hindering gov’t performance

The retreat highlighted several issues undermining the government’s performance since the Kenya Kwanza administration took office in September 2022. These included legal obstacles, shifting geopolitical dynamics, misinformation, and chronic budget deficits. Other setbacks cited were lack of matching funds from development partners, ineffective monitoring systems, and the misuse of genuine grievances to incite unrest.

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“While notable progress has been made in meeting some key targets, various gaps and shortcomings remain that must be urgently addressed if the government is to honour its social contract with the people,” stated the official communiqué released after the retreat.

Concerned about the slow pace of service delivery and intent on restoring public trust, President Ruto outlined critical priorities. These included increasing foreign exchange earnings through enhanced exports and reduced import dependency, establishing ICT hubs nationwide and equipping them with computers, and adopting a unified government-wide procurement system that favours local manufacturing.