William Ruto Defends His Endless Foreign Trips Amid Criticism: "I'm Not A Tourist"

• President William Ruto advised opposition leader Raila Odinga to stop complaining about the export of labour, stating that there are more youths seeking opportunities abroad
• Ruto said it was too early to complain, citing the need to stabilise the economy through sourcing employment in all corners of the world
• Ruto informed Raila that he works through structured plans, stressing that his numerous trips are not for tourism

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

President William Ruto has firmly insisted that his foreign trips are not ending soon, adding that they are all geared towards making Kenya a better place.

Ruto blasted opposition leader Raila Odinga for raising complaints about labour exports at the initial stage of his leadership.

Speaking in St. Paul's Kiriita-Kimeende Lari, Kiambu county, on Sunday, December 10, the president emphasised the significance of his trips to Kenyans and reminded Raila that he is not a tourist but actively working on plans.

"You have heard that I travel the world. I do it according to plans. I am not a tourist. I saw Raila objecting to thousands being taken to work abroad. Did he prefer them to stay here? We still have a significant number of people seeking foreign employment opportunities, so it's not the right time to begin complaining," said Ruto.

How did Ruto defend his trips?

He also informed Raila that the economy would only move forward by creating jobs for the youth.

The head of state affirmed that he has had bilateral talks with Israel and Germany, where thousands of youths will be taken to work, to increase the diaspora remittances to KSh 10 billion a year from the current KSh 4 billion.

"Right now, there are those going to Israel this month, and another team will travel in the next month. Those going abroad are the team that will bring us dollars to deal with the exchange rates. Is there a problem with working in Israel for a salary between KSh 100,000 and 150,000?" posed the president.

He added:

"Stop complaining at this stage; we will still take the masses because we want this country to move forward through hard work and a lot of Kenyans in employment. We want to increase our diaspora remittances from KSh 4 billion to KSh 10 billion every year."

Raila condemns Ruto's trips

The Azimio leader had told Ruto to focus on creating jobs within the country rather than spending much on travel costs following an uproar from Kenyans.

He advised the president to slash travel costs by KSh 500 billion and only focus on trips that were of benefit to the country.

"To release resources to achieve these objectives, the government must cut the budget by an estimated KSh 500 billion. The current policies have hit low-income families particularly hard. These are the same low-income families that the administration promised to lift up,” he said during a ‘Transforming a Nation’ conference in Nairobi on Friday, November 10.

Since the president took power in 2022, he has taken more than 50 trips to 34 countries.

However, according to government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, the trips the president has taken have yielded KSh 2 trillion worth of benefits as a result of the various international deals signed since assuming office in September last year.