MP Kaluma hails Ruto for roads, security, and economic gains across Kenya

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has praised President William Ruto’s administration for progress in infrastructure and economic management, saying development is visible across the country despite a narrow fiscal space.

Speaking during an interview at Radio Generation, Kaluma highlighted the challenges inherited from previous governments, including a high debt burden and looming economic default, and credited Ruto’s leadership with stabilizing the economy.

Kaluma, a member of the finance committee, noted that when Ruto took office, Kenya was one of six nations at risk of default.

“The only state which has not defaulted is Kenya and Ruto take over. The economy was in very bad shape,” he said.

The legislator added that under the previous administration, foreign debt rose from 1.3 trillion to Sh 8.7 trillion, while domestic debt increased from less than a trillion to nearly 4 trillion.

He explained that immediate debt repayments under Ruto’s government, including interest payments of Sh1.17 trillion, have absorbed most of the government’s revenue.

“About Sh1.17 trillion is going towards paying interest on the principal, the principal 1.34 trillion is going towards recurrent expenditure. What remains of the collection of Sh2.5 trillion? Nothing,” Kaluma said.

Despite these constraints, he said the government has continued to implement development projects.

MP Kaluma cited ongoing road construction as a major achievement.

He said the Mandera-Wajir-Kotulo highway is over 60 percent complete, opening up Northern Kenya for trade and transport.

In his own constituency, Kaluma said Ruto’s administration has constructed more than 130 kilometers of tarmac roads, transforming Homa Bay Town from a dusty backwater into a town moving toward city status.

Roads connecting rural areas to the town, such as Lalaroga and Young Kinyimbo, have also been completed.

He further praised investments in other regions, including Tana River, where bridges and tarmac roads are being built for the first time since independence.

“These roads are not just facilitating economic development and the opening up of those regions. Those roads are essential also for security… our security apparatus and personnel… securing our people along those regions are also very safe,” Kaluma said, referencing threats from Al Shabaab and improvised explosive devices.

Kaluma said Ruto’s administration has managed to integrate development across all regions, unlike previous governments that focused primarily on selective areas.

He cited the previous administration’s focus on Mount Kenya, which left other parts of the country without infrastructure.

“Ruto is doing those roads. He is opening up areas which never knew infrastructure existed,” Kaluma said. He argued that the visible progress shows that President Ruto has achieved substantial development despite economic and fiscal limitations.