DP Ruto welcomes Raila’s change of stand on economic recovery

Deputy President William Ruto and his political nemesis Raila Odinga were yet again involved in a spat yesterday over the ‘Hustler Nation’ narrative.

 Ruto in a tweet “welcomed” Raila’s stance and change of position on the economic empowerment debate.

The ODM leader in an article published by a local media house yesterday  outlined measures to make Kenya a prosperous nation.

“My friend Tinga, welcome to the Hustler movement. The conversation here is about the economy, not ethnicity, empowerment not power,” read the tweet.

He added: “Jobs not positions, creating opportunity and wealth not sharing, citizens not leaders by changing policy not the Constitution to bottom-up not top-down economics.”

Last week, Raila released a sample of his 2022 economic blueprint that will anchor his presidential bid.

Raila, who has on several occasions dismissed the bottom-up economic model championed by Ruto shocked many by the abrupt change of stance.

The opposition leader has accused the DP of propagating a handout culture  which he says is overtaken by events.

 But now, Raila says he will develop and implement policies on the rural transformation to make rural life more bearable.

“The culture of giving youths wheelbarrows is archaic and primitive and should not be introduced to our youths,” Raila said recently in relation to Ruto’s model of giving out simple work tools to the youths.

President Uhuru Kenyatta also joined the bandwagon accusing some unnamed leaders of bribing young people to be elected.

Uhuru said the model used is not sustainable because the government agenda is driven by guiding principles.

Speaking in Makueni last Friday, he took a swipe at his deputy for allegedly corrupting the minds of the youth with handouts instead of empowering them to fend for themselves.

Without mentioning the DP by name, the Head of State said some leaders do not have plans of transforming the lives of Kenyans and have instead resorted to dishing out handouts.

“You must have plans. And you can’t have plans if you don’t think about the things that will help citizens to stand on their own,” Uhuru cautioned.

Raila in his proposed manifesto plans to bolster rural economies and small scale businesses to build on President Uhuru’s urban regeneration strategy.

The DP, on his side, wants the government to set aside Sh30 million annually to help small and medium sized enterprises.

Ruto argues that his model is the surest way to spur growth as opposed to the top-down model, which seeks to invest from the top.