According to a report released on Wednesday by the research firm TIFA, 84 percent of Kenyans believe the country’s current economic situation is worse than last year’s.
In the ‘End of 2023: President Ruto’s Government Performance’ report, 8% of Kenyans said the current economic situation was similar to 2022, while 7% said it was better.
Furthermore, 87% said they had reduced personal spending to adjust to the rising cost of living, primarily on transportation, clothing, and entertainment.
Kenyans gave President William Ruto high marks for protecting forests, supporting agriculture, combating pollution and contamination, and encouraging tourists and investment in tourism.
They gave him low marks for reducing Kenya’s debt and donor financial dependence, reducing corruption, creating jobs, and lowering the cost of living.
Respondents cited inflation and cost of living (39%), corruption (15%), debt repayment (8%), opposition pressure (4%), declining value of the shilling (3%) and unemployment (2%).
“Given the fact that reducing the cost of living was such a major part of Kenya Kwanza’s successful 2022 election campaign, its continued rise helps to explain why more Kenyans cited it as the main challenge the government currently faces,” Dr Tom Wolf, a senior researcher at TIFA, told a media conference in Nairobi.
TIFA said it conducted a mobile phone survey between November 25 and December 7. It had 3,009 respondents.
