{"id":115884,"date":"2025-06-01T12:03:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T12:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/06\/01\/ruto-touts-successes-in-housing-healthcare-as-he-defends-his-record\/"},"modified":"2025-06-01T12:03:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T12:03:15","slug":"ruto-touts-successes-in-housing-healthcare-as-he-defends-his-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ruto-touts-successes-in-housing-healthcare-as-he-defends-his-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruto touts successes in housing, healthcare as he defends his record"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 1 \u2014 President William Ruto has defended his administration\u2019s record, touting a raft of social and economic programs as he led the nation in commemorating the 62nd Madaraka Day celebrations in Homa Bay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Ruto described his government\u2019s \u201cpro-people policies\u201d as tangible proof of his administration\u2019s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) development blueprint at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, it is a lived reality for millions of Kenyans, transforming lives and reshaping destinies across the country, day by day,\u201d said Ruto on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t understand what we meant by \u2018bottom-up\u2019, now you do. If you didn\u2019t believe, now you believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruto described the Affordable Housing Programme as a cornerstone of his government\u2019s pro-people agenda, citing recent handovers in Nairobi and Homa Bay.<\/p>\n

He praised the program\u2019s success in offering rent-to-own opportunities for low-income earners.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see families move from the hardship of overcrowded slums to the comfort of permanent homes\u2026 was a powerful reminder of what pro-people policies can deliver,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He announced a proposal to Parliament to allow contributors to the housing levy to access affordable home loans of up to Sh5 million at single-digit interest rates \u2014 a move aimed at expanding homeownership across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery shilling contributed to the Housing Levy will work for the contributor,\u201d Ruto stated.<\/p>\n

Healthcare reforms <\/h3>\n

On universal healthcare, President Ruto highlighted the progress of the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Taifa Care program, with 23 million Kenyans registered and Sh43 billion in claims paid covering 4.5 million patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cSHA is working,\u201d Ruto declared. \u201cUniversal Healthcare Coverage is now serving Kenyans and leaving nobody behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

He announced the launch of \u2018Lipa SHA PolePole\u2019, a flexible installment-based SHA contribution platform via USSD *147#, targeting informal sector households to maintain consistent coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Kenyan should have to choose between life-saving treatment and their dignity,\u201d he said, urging mass registration with SHA.<\/p>\n

Ruto unveiled a Sh20 billion NYOTA program, a World Bank-backed youth empowerment initiative that will benefit over 800,000 youth with business training, grants, and job experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have committed Sh5 billion in grants to support 100,000 young people, each receiving Sh50,000 in seed capital by August this year,\u201d he announced.<\/p>\n

He also announced the nationwide rollout of Climate Worx, an employment program for 110,000 youth to work on climate-related public projects such as tree planting, road construction, and sanitation in informal settlements.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure and economic growth <\/h3>\n

On infrastructure, Ruto confirmed that construction of the Rironi\u2013Mau Summit dual carriageway will begin in July, with future extension to Eldoret and Malaba. <\/p>\n

He also noted the planned SGR extension to Kisumu and Malaba saying government had finalised talks on the project.<\/p>\n

Addressing concerns about the leasing of state-owned sugar mills, Ruto defended the move as a strategy for modernization and efficiency, not privatization.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet it be clearly understood: neither the factories nor their assets, including land, have been sold. They remain public property,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n

President Ruto said Kenya\u2019s economy is on a path to long-term prosperity, with a 5 per cent growth rate, rising GDP, a strengthening shilling, and improved inflation levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis reflects the strength of our economic fundamentals and the impact of our bold reforms,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Ruto called on Kenyans to remain steadfast in their belief in the nation\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us never become a nation that stopped believing, nor a people who only dreamt but were too afraid to act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s national celebrations in Homa Bay were graced by a host of leaders including visiting Slovenian President Nata\u0161a Pirc Musar.<\/p>\n

Musar, who was the guest of honour at the event, urged Kenyans to remain vigilant in safeguarding the ideals of independence and resist condescending attitudes from former colonial powers.<\/p>\n

Invoking the legacy of founding President Jomo Kenyatta, she observed that Kenyatta not only led Kenya to independence but also envisioned a united Africa \u2014 an ambition that she said remains as urgent today as it was decades ago.<\/p>\n

She drew parallels between Kenya\u2019s post-independence path and Slovenia\u2019s own experiences as part of the former Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the Non-Aligned Movement, Musar said its message, that smaller nations need not be beholden to the interests of global superpowers, remains relevant in today\u2019s multipolar world.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 1 \u2014 President William Ruto has defended his administration\u2019s record, touting a raft of social and economic programs as he led the nation in commemorating the 62nd Madaraka Day celebrations in Homa Bay. President Ruto described his government\u2019s \u201cpro-people policies\u201d as tangible proof of his administration\u2019s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) development […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}