Written By John Mutiso 📝
The radical plans of Deputy President William Ruto to reverse key flagship Jubilee projects have rattled President Kenyatta’s camp.
In his campaign trail, the DP promised to reverse key gains in the President’s flagship project including the Standard Gauge Railway and the competency-based curriculum (CBC).
He has also promised to restructure the Managed Equipment Services (MES) project and to stop bailing out troubled state companies.
Under the MES agreement, counties pay Sh100 million per year for leased equipment purchased by the national government.
Last week, the DP vowed to reverse the decision made in June to transfer Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) operations to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
The SGR deal has drawn the DP’s harshest criticism, despite the fact that he has previously defended the inland container depots (ICDs) in Naivasha and Embakasi on numerous occasions, including at the 2018 Nakuru Investment Conference, where he stated that it was the best idea to expand the economy.
“It was never the intention of the government to build the SGR and frustrate small businesses in Coast. It was meant to make the port more efficient and to improve services,” said an analyst.
“Unfortunately, a few people took advantage of the project and ended up with selfish programmes to the detriment of Coast residents.”
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui described the DP’s plan as “economic sabotage”.
“My only question is, is Nakuru not part of Kenya? Instead of engaging in conversations on how to enlarge the national cake and reach everyone, we are entertaining retrogressive policies targeting certain regions for short-term political expediency,” he said.
However, Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata stated that reversing the ICD model would not kill Nakuru’s economy as there were other ways to tap into its potential.
“A ‘hustler’ government will establish a free economic zone in Naivasha, where companies will get tax waivers. That will create employment for many. The current SGR is far away from Naivasha and terminates in a private land and locals don’t benefit,” he said.
In terms of education, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi claimed that the CBC system was rushed into place without extensive consultation with stakeholders. He went on to say that it is a significant burden for millions of parents.
“The controversial system will be scrapped once the Ruto/Mudavadi government takes power in August,” he tweeted in February.
Ford-Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula recently observed: “There is something frustrating for students, teachers and parents called CBC. We will do away with this curriculum if we ascend to power come August 9.”