Kenya – GenZs Highlight Solutions To Help President Ruto In Rebuilding The Trust Of Kenyans

By Lisbeth Micheni, Kenya

After weeks of protests against the government, titbits of actions President William Ruto can explore to rebuild the trust of the young people are gradually coming to light, from Gen Zs themselves.

On Monday, the youth allied to the Green Thinking Action Party (GTAP), penned an elaborate accountability checklist they claimed Gen Zs, who were the orchestrators of the protests, were expecting the state to fulfil.

At the top of the expectations, the youth led by the party’s 31-year-old James Koech, noted that they were looking forward to President William Ruto reshuffling his Cabinet.

For months now, the public accused some members of the Cabinet of either underperforming or engaging in corrupt dealings. They also complained that at 21 CSs, Ruto’s Cabinet was bloated and needed trimming, preferably to 15 heads

The young leaders further advised the Head of State to revise controversial policies, implement advanced transparency mechanisms, and initiate genuine national dialogues.

GTAP also challenged the top office to strengthen judicial independence and institutional reforms, launch targeted economic reforms, establish public accountability initiatives, and promote cultural change within the government.

In the past week since shelving the 2024 Finance Bill in its entirety, President Ruto made efforts towards reaching out to Gen Zs and millennials but with mixed reception.

The president made an effort to have a conversation with the GenZs on X formerly Twitter, agreeing to prioritize their issues.

However, on Friday, the Head of State co-hosted an X Space , effectively becoming the first African President to do so, but a majority of the attendees claimed that they were left dissatisfied.

Nonetheless, GTAP youth demanded the President to establish a transparent online portal for real-time government budget and expenditure tracking, as well as hold bi-annual public accountability forums in each county.

Other key expectations include increasing allocations for public healthcare and education by at least 15%, initiating a recruitment drive for an additional 10,000 teachers and healthcare professionals, and reducing salaries of high-earning government officials by 20%.

Gen Zs also expect the government to form a commission to investigate economic disparities, reinstate the national school feeding program, and implement budget cuts to reduce non-essential government spending by 30%.

Since the protests, Ruto and lawmakers allied with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) have fallen out of favor with the youth, forcing some to issue apologies for the approval of the 2024 Finance Bill many considered punitive.