President Ruto told people at State House that he had to make some brutal calls to keep Kenya from defaulting on its debt. He was receiving a security report when he explained how the country was in rough shape when he took over, with inflation hitting 9.6 percent and foreign reserves dropping to just 5.7 billion dollars. The dollar had climbed to 167, and things were looking pretty grim.
Ruto said he had to cut subsidies on fuel and flour, and he even stopped paying some debts temporarily to avoid total collapse. Five other countries defaulted that year, but Kenya managed to stay afloat. He admitted the decisions were tough and made him sad, but he felt like he had no choice if the country wanted to avoid embarrassment on the world stage.
The president says the economy is stable again, and he stands by everything he did because the alternative would have been way worse.
Ruto said he had to cut subsidies on fuel and flour, and he even stopped paying some debts temporarily to avoid total collapse. Five other countries defaulted that year, but Kenya managed to stay afloat. He admitted the decisions were tough and made him sad, but he felt like he had no choice if the country wanted to avoid embarrassment on the world stage.
The president says the economy is stable again, and he stands by everything he did because the alternative would have been way worse.
