President Ruto Scores Poorly On Economic Pledges In First 100 Days - Survey

President William Ruto when he launched the National Programme for Accelerated Forestry and Rangelands Restoration in Ngong’ Hills Forest, Kajiado County, on December 21, 2022. PHOTO | PCS

By Kepha Muiruri

President William Ruto has scored poorly on economic pledges made during the campaign trail according to a survey assessing his first 100 days in office by Infotrak.

The survey, which involved a sample size of 840 Kenyans and was conducted between December 21 and December 22, disclosed that President Ruto scored 49.2 points or a D in his attainment of economic pledges in the period.

The President returned the lowest score in making food affordable and accessible to Kenyans, lowering the cost of living and improving the lives of low-income earners.

The poor score, which is lifted off the Likert Scale & Grades, implies that President Ruto’s economic pledges require immediate attention.

Overall, however, the President has a higher score of 52.1 points or a C, but which implies a need for improvement in meeting pledges made.

Governance pledges made by the President including the appointment of six judges rejected by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and the reforming of institutions involved in justice, law and order earned him a score of 55.9 per cent or a C.

Pledges on instilling gender equality similarly return a C score or 52.5 points, with the highest score coming from the establishment of a women's rights agency in the office of the President.

President Ruto’s highest score, a B of 59.9 points, comes from infrastructure pledges with the sole achievement being the return of port operations to Mombasa.

Ranked by region, President Ruto’s scorecard in his first 100 days is the highest in the Eastern region, Central and the Rift Valley, and lowest in Nyanza and Nairobi.

Moreover, the President earns the highest approval ratings from youth aged 18 to 26 years and from the female gender respectively.

The Infotrak survey published on Tuesday assessed the President on governance, the economy, social progress, infrastructure development, and foreign affairs.

The Head of State marked his 100th day in office on Thursday last week.

The cost of living measured through the inflation rate has climbed from 8.5 per cent in August to 9.5 per cent at the end of November, with food inflation at 15.3 per cent and fuel inflation at 13.8 per cent.