Ruto Pledges to Publish Kenya’s Contracts with China If Elected President

Deputy President William Ruto has pledged to make public all contracts signed by Kenya and other countries if elected president in the upcoming elections.

Speaking during the 2022 presidential debate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), Ruto affirmed that contracts and agreements are public documents and that Kenyans have the constitutional right to access the information.

“The fact that that information is not made public is against the constitution,” said Ruto.

Ruto pointed an accusing finger at President Kenyatta for the failure to publish government contracts with China, stating that the buck stops with the president.

Asked why he has not demanded the publication of these contracts, Ruto said that as a member of the cabinet and deputy president, he has taken very firm positions on key issues including the issues of contracts.

"As DP there is so much that you can do. I have discharged those responsibilities to the best of my ability and I have made my position clear in regards to the contracts to the right offices. It is not a matter I would have wanted to take to the public for purposes of making sure that the government is functional," he said.

"I have given advice to my boss on many issues including that particular issue. I have enumerated very well that it is the constitutional position that every contract is made public. I have given that advice to the president as is required of me but you know the buck stops with the boss."

On his plan to manage Kenya’s public debt which currently stands at Sh8.6 trillion, Ruto said his administration will halt all borrowing immediately, put a stop to projects that are not in the government budget, and find ways of increasing revenue.

“I believe it is reckless for anybody to say we cannot pay our debts. I believe that we have what it takes to pay our debts. We have a plan as Kenya Kwanza on how to manage debt. We will first slow down on borrowing. We will put brakes on unbudgeted projects; in fact, that is the biggest source of our problem. Projects that are not within the budget, so that we cannot keep our fiscal deficit at what we have committed; 5% or 5.9%,” he said.

He added: “We need to raise our revenues. We have areas that we believe that we can raise our revenue. For example, we collect 52% of all collectible VAT, just by automation and computerization, we can actually raise 95% of all collectable VAT.”