Claim
Four claims about bailouts to
Verdict
Two correct, one mostly correct and one understated
Source
Ruto's figures mostly add up. The Kenyatta administration has put more than KSh 100 billion into
His support of a "bottom-up economic model" does echo US president
Ruto understated the number of technical training institutions built in
Kenyan deputy president
Ruto seeks to succeed president
In early
As this all plays out,
On
By referring to the most recent publicly available data, we vetted four of Ruto's claims.
(Note: You can read our recent fact-checks of claims by Ruto's main rival,
Claim
The government of
Verdict
Mostly Correct
At the rally Ruto used the example of how much money had been channelled into flag carrier
"Serikali ya
This translates to: "We have as the government of
The government is the majority shareholder in the airline, with a 48.9% stake.
Company reports since 2013, when the Kenyatta-Ruto administration took office, show the government has regularly bailed out the struggling airline.
This support includes:
KSh4.2 billion in 2015
KSh20 billion in two payments of KSh10 billion in
KSh7.74 billion in
KSh11 billion in 2020 to refurbish its fleet and to weather the economic shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic
In 2021, the government disclosed it had taken over the airline's debt of
KQ is the airline's international code.
The
Between 2013 and 2020, the Kenyan government sank KSh42.94 billion in the airline, and also took over debts of KSh94 billion.
We therefore rate this claim mostly correct. - Makinia Juma
Claim
"Even the president of [
Verdict
Correct
Ruto is championing a "bottom-up" economic model that he has said would empower millions of Kenyans struggling to make ends meet.
At the Kirinyaga rally he said the alternative, a "trickle-down" economic model, had not worked in
"Even the president of America,
Biden was sworn in as US president on
"It is time that we build an economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out," Biden said.
He repeated this on
Prof XN Iraki teaches economics at the
"But because the incentive givers, [by which I mean] politicians, have a vested interest, the trickle down is slowed ... the word 'trickle' itself shows benefits should not be that much - not a deluge!" Iraki said.
Public finance think tank says 'no consensus' on trickle-down vs bottom-up
Biden has said the "trickle-down" economic model did not work. We therefore will be generous and rate him as correct on this claim. But it is debatable if he "confirmed" this.
Dr
"There's no consensus about which of these perspectives works or doesn't," he said. Both had weaknesses which were magnified depending on the context.
"In the US, the trickle-down approach has led to massive inequality and poverty amid great wealth," Rugo said. "In
Claim
"We built over 700 kilometres of railway."
Verdict
Correct
Ruto said the current government had built 700 kilometres of new rail.
In 2014, construction of the standard-gauge railway (SGR), the country's most expensive infrastructure project yet, began. It was completed in 2017, with the presidency giving its length as 472 kilometres.
The railway runs from the coastal city of Mombasa to the capital
The SGR office has previously told
A second phase of the project connects
A new narrower metre-gauge railway connecting the Mai Mahiu inland container depot to Longonot town in Naivasha was completed in 2021 and measures 24.35km.
These two additional gauges bring the total railway track built under Kenyatta to at least 764km. - Dancan Bwire
Claim
"We have built 170 technical training institutions."
Verdict
Understated
Ruto claimed the administration had built 170 technical training institutions (TTIs) since taking office.
According to the
TTIs offer technical and vocational education that focuses on gaining formal and informal job skills.
In its national strategic plan for 2018-2022, the country's education ministry said "it is difficult to know the exact number" of technical education and vocational institutions. This, it said, was because "some privately owned institutions are not accredited or registered".
However, the strategic plan said the government was building 217 new TTIs.
In 2013, the statistics office's annual economic survey listed 36 technical training institutes.
When Ruto made the claim, data showed that the number of public technical and vocational colleges had grown to 230 as of 2020, an increase of 194 since 2013.
A 2021 ministry report also gave the number of public technical and vocational colleges as 238 in 2020. We therefore rate this claim as understated. (Note: New official data shows these institutions are now at 255.)
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Copyright Africa Check. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source