Ruto taps into Raila's economic think-tank in his 'Singapore' dream

President William Ruto has tapped into Raila Odinga’s long-standing economic think-tank as part of his renewed push to achieve his ‘Singapore’ dream.

The President last week hosted the team led by Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o at State house.

Ruto also tagged along members of his Council of Economic Advisers during the meeting signalling convergence between the government and the opposition’s policy brains.

The Nyong’o team had Raila’s long-term pressman Dennis Onyango, Prof Karuti Kanyinga, Prof Oduor Wanyande, Prof Michael Chege and George Omondi.

Kanyinga is an accomplished development researcher and scholar currently a research professor of development studies at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi.

Wanyande is a well-trained political analyst, who has worked in government and in regional organisations such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and served as a commissioner with the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution.

Chege is a research affiliate of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi.

The team, the President noted, will continue to engage and shape a coherent long-term development vision for Kenya.

The Nyong’o team presented a detailed policy paper to the presidency outlining a roadmap for moving Kenya ‘from a third-world economy to a first-world nation’.

Raila’s think-tank, which has for years crafted policy positions for ODM, has often argued that Kenya’s development problem is not lack of resources but weak planning and execution.

“I received a thought-leadership presentation on the contribution of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda to Vision 2030, and its role in accelerating delivery over the next five years as Kenya advances its economic transition,” President said after the Friday’s meeting.

“The discussions provided valuable insights into policy alignment, economic inclusion and the strategic reforms required to sustain Kenya’s growth and competitiveness beyond 2030, in alignment with our nation’s journey towards first-world economic status.”

The engagement comes at a time when Ruto has intensified his rhetoric on transforming Kenya into a high-income economy, repeatedly citing Singapore as a model he wants the country to emulate.

The President has on several occasions reiterated his belief that Kenya can achieve rapid development similar to Singapore if it maintains discipline, stays the course on economic reforms and invests strategically in key sectors.

He stressed that transformation cannot be achieved through political rhetoric alone but through concrete development programmes and consistent policy implementation.

“I am not doing all this because I want votes in 2027. I am past looking for votes. My mission is to change the country,” Ruto said last month in Kiambu during a church service at the Africa Inland Pentecostal Church Assembly (AIPCA), Gatundu North Diocese.

“If it was about votes, you elected me in 2022 and that is enough for me to deliver. Elections will come later; it is time to work. When that time comes, people should be judged according to what they have done.”

Critics led by his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka have, however, dismissed the ‘Singapore’ dream as another vote-hunting chant.

Most of the members of Raila team played crucial role in developing the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation and vision 2030 under President Mwai Kibaki (deceased).

The paper laid the groundwork for sustained growth post-2002, guiding the economy back to rapid expansion and poverty reduction, which informed the vision 2030.