Speaking on Friday during an engagement with graduate interns recruited under the Affordable Housing Programme at State House, Nairobi, the President said the government was confident it could mobilise the funds by selling stakes in key parastatals, including the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
Ruto said the process of raising the funds had already begun and insisted the target was achievable within the projected timeline, arguing that the strategy was focused on economic transformation rather than political considerations.
“We have started the process of raising the money to do development. I said Ksh5 trillion; we have the means to raise the Ksh5 trillion by next year. This is not about politics; it is about transforming Kenya,” the President said.
He appeared to take aim at politicians opposing the plan, accusing them of shifting positions on privatisation and the diversification of government-owned shares for political convenience.
“I want to ask some politicians who, the other day, all agreed that diversification of shares and privatisation is a prudent way of raising resources, but are now politicising the matter. Let us all own the piece of what we are building together,” he added.
Ruto also dismissed concerns over transparency in the divestiture process, responding to critics led by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, the former chairperson of the National Assembly Budget Committee, who have questioned how the proposed share sales will be handled.
Defending the role of regulatory institutions, the President said the law was clear on how such transactions should be conducted, insisting that they were overseen by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and executed through public trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
“Such transactions and processes are handled through the Capital Markets Authority, and shares are traded publicly at the NSE. These are not decisions made by committees or behind closed doors,” he said.
The remarks come at a time when the government has formally unveiled the Kenya Pipeline Company Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the NSE, a landmark listing billed as the largest IPO ever undertaken in Kenya and the country’s first fully electronic public offer.
Under the offer, the government is selling 65 per cent of KPC’s issued ordinary shares to the public at Ksh9 per share, opening up ownership of one of the country’s most strategic energy infrastructure firms to both local and international investors.
The IPO is part of a broader privatisation programme that the government says is aimed at unlocking value from state-owned enterprises, deepening Kenya’s capital markets, and reducing reliance on external borrowing.
Ruto said the proceeds from the divestiture would be channelled into development priorities, including affordable housing, infrastructure, healthcare, and industrialisation, which he described as critical pillars of his administration’s economic agenda.
“We must be bold in how we mobilise resources for development. We cannot continue borrowing endlessly. We must use what we already have to invest in our future,” he said.
However, the plan has attracted criticism from some quarters, with opponents questioning both its feasibility and potential long-term implications for national assets.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has openly questioned the viability of Ruto’s vision of turning Kenya into a “Singapore-like” economy, describing it as difficult to achieve under the country’s current economic conditions.
She argued that Kenya must first address persistent challenges such as high poverty levels, low wages, and household vulnerability before aspiring to replicate Singapore’s development model.
“Without improving the living standards of ordinary citizens, the vision of a Singapore-like economy will remain largely unattainable,” Nyakang’o warned.
She also expressed concern about Kenya’s continued reliance on external financing, particularly from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), suggesting that such dependence could limit the government’s ability to implement reforms based on local priorities.
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