President Ruto outlines key priorities for new Cabinet's agenda

President William Ruto has outlined his expectations and the critical areas the newly reconstituted Cabinet must focus on to drive progress.

Speaking at State House, Nairobi on Thursday, Ruto laid out a comprehensive plan to tackle corruption, enhance transparency, and boost the country's economic growth.

"We stand at a crucial point in our journey. The reconstituted Cabinet will accelerate the attainment of our goals and focus on several critical areas," he said.

One of the key areas highlighted was accountability and the fight against corruption.

The Head of State announced plans to introduce new measures to ensure responsible use of public resources.

"To enhance accountability and promote responsibility for the use of public resources, we shall introduce measures to levy a surcharge against any accounting officer or other public officer who causes loss of public resources," he said.

To combat payroll fraud, Ruto proposed a Unified Personal Identification system.

"To eliminate the 'ghost worker' payroll fraud at all levels of Government, we shall also implement a Unified Personal Identification system for all personnel working across all the arms of government," he explained.

The President also discussed tightening the vetting procedure for public officials.

"The Cabinet shall introduce a legal and institutional framework for mandatory and continuous vetting of all public officers,"  he said.

This structure will also manage wealth declarations through a single office.

He also stressed the need for speedy justice in corruption cases.

"We shall facilitate expeditious investigation and prosecution of all offences related to corruption and economic crimes,"  he said.

This includes updating applicable statutes and ensuring that cases are resolved within six months.

Ruto committed to enhancing the Witness Protection Act to motivate people to report instances of corruption.

"Our war on corruption will be significantly boosted by making it easier and safer for citizens and whistle-blowers to report corruption and economic crimes," Ruto added.

In addition, the Head of State stressed the importance of legislative support for transparency.

"I have engaged with the parliamentary leadership to expedite the enactment of the Conflict of Interests Bill," Ruto noted while expressing his commitment to signing effective legislation into law.

The President also outlined plans to reform public expenditure management.

"Beginning the Financial Year 2025-2026, we shall adopt a zero-based budgeting system to re-orient the budgeting and expenditure framework of the Government," he announced.

To further reduce corruption, Ruto advocated for the use of technology.

"We shall exploit the power of information and communication technology to radically diminish opportunities for corruption by digitizing procurement and making it open and transparent," he explained.

The VAT refund process will also be revamped for greater transparency.

"We shall initiate a framework to make the VAT refund process open, transparent, and accountable," Ruto said.

President Ruto also called for collaboration with parliament to support local industries.

"The reconstituted Cabinet will also work with parliament to develop measures that promote local manufacturing and job creation by restricting imports of products that can be produced domestically," he added.

Ruto highlighted that the Kenya Kwanza agenda, built over the last two years, is focused on job creation, development of local industrial capacity, and wealth creation.

He told the cabinet members to strive to accelerate its realisation while building on the laid-down legacy.

"The reconstituted cabinet will accelerate the attainment and will build on this solid foundation already built over the last two years but additionally will focus on the following critical areas," he said.