Senate · Afternoon Sitting
Thursday, 20 November 2025
President William Ruto addressed a special joint sitting of the Senate and National Assembly, celebrating progress in agriculture, housing, health, digitalisation and climate initiatives while urging Kenya to accelerate its transition from a developing to a developed nation. He invoked examples of the Asian Tigers and announced a bold national project aimed at inclusive growth and prosperity. The speech combined commendation of past achievements with a forward‑looking vision for transformative development. President William Ruto outlined Kenya's turnaround from the 2022 economic crisis, citing restored fiscal discipline, boosted agricultural and livestock production, and expanded exports. He detailed health sector reforms, including universal coverage through the Social Health Authority and a massive rollout of community health promoters. The speech emphasized continued transformation and collective effort across government and citizens. President William Ruto outlined extensive achievements in housing, student accommodation, market construction and job creation, alongside a rapid digital transformation that expanded fibre networks, public Wi‑Fi and e‑government services. He urged Kenya to raise its ambition, citing Asian Tigers, and announced increased education spending, a new State Department for Science, Research and Innovation, and plans to expand the National Research Fund to boost STEM and entrepreneurship.
Your Excellency, Hon. (Dr.)
In this regard, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, vide a letter reference No.EOP/1CAB.26/4A Vol.7(1), dated 3rd September 2025, informed the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament of the intention of His Excellency the President to address Parliament. Consequently, and upon consultation, the address to Parliament by His Excellency the President was scheduled for today, Thursday, 20th N…
Your Excellency, Hon. (Dr.) William Samoei Ruto, CGH., President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces; the Rt. Hon. Amason King, EGH, MP, Speaker of the Senate; Hon. Members of Parliament; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen, Article 132 (1) (b) of the Constitution requires the President to address the nation once every…
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Row. Parliament deeply appreciates your outstanding contribution to the national defence, security and distinguished service to our nation.
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Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker, Sir. The Hon. Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate, Hon. Members of the National Assembly and the Senate, the Chief Justice and the leadership of the Judiciary, Cabinet Secretaries, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, fellow citizens, ladies and gentlemen. Two years ago, when I delivered my first State of the Nation Address, I had a vision to se…
working on housing sites, in the Climate Works Programme, in the digital ecosystem and in the bravery of those who, looking beyond our borders, have sought livelihoods abroad to sustain families back home. It is a story of sacrifice, sweat and progress that has not come easy. It is a story you can see in the numbers, feel in the homes and trace in the lives transformed across our Republic. A stor…
Hon. Members, the last three years have not been easy. We have agreed, sometimes disagreed and at times those disagreements have carried great cost. We have compromised, we have confronted hard truths and we have endured storms none of us invited, but we all take comfort that it has not been for nothing, for this is how far we have come. At a time like this in 2022, Kenya was in distress. Inflatio…
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In short, Hon. Speaker, Hon. Members, the world's most respected economic assessors and market sentiment are affirming what we already know, that our economy is strengthening, our prospects are brightening and confidence in Kenya is rising. Our critics, the high priests of eternal pessimism, who criticise without responsibility and tear down without offering alternatives, will want you to believe …
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seedlings. The sugar sector, long troubled, is now stabilising. The area under cane is up by 200,000 acres, production has surged 76 per cent to over 815,000 metric tonnes and imports are down 70 per cent. To secure this progress, we have leased Nzoia, Muhoroni, Sony and Chemelil factories to competent private sector operators. Our livestock value chain is rising. Leather exports are up 56 per ce…
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for them, healthcare is not a privilege. I must commend Members of this august House who have stepped in to support vulnerable families in this gesture.
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Across the country, we are delivering the most extensive housing rollout in Kenya's history, 230,000 affordable homes. We meet students’ needs. One hundred and seventy-eight thousand beds have been packaged for universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions (TVETs), Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), with 74,000 already under construction, transforming a sector wher…
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Ladies and gentlemen, over the past three years, our digital transformation agenda has become one of the most powerful engines of renewal, acquired revolution changing how Kenyans live, work, learn or do business. We have expanded the fibre optic by 24,000 kilometres and moved from zero public Wi-Fi hotspots in 2022 to nearly 1,500 today, connecting communities once left behind. We have set up 30…
in 2021 to over Kshs700 billion this year. It has facilitated better infrastructure in our education system, more teachers and trainers and enhanced funding for our colleges and universities. I have reorganised Government departments to establish a dedicated State Department for Science, Research and Innovation to support the urgent need to scale up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic…
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be a net exporter of agricultural products. It underpins economic independence, rural prosperity and sustainable development. The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation alongside all relevant agencies has already mapped the precise locations of these dams. These projects span the breadth of our Republic - from the mega High Grand Falls dam on River Daua in Mandera to Isiolo’s Barsalinga dam…
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investment in education, roads, energy, water systems, logistics, transport and digital network yet, our fiscal space is narrow. We cannot continue funding essential infrastructure through unsustainable borrowing and burdening of taxpayers with additional taxes and neither can we afford to postpone these imperatives without risking our future. There is a need to be innovative in the use of nation…
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Hon. Members, let us be upstanding. Your Excellency the President, the Right Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Members and distinguished guests, we have now come to the conclusion of the business of the day, and it is now time to adjourn. The Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, 25th November, 2025 at 2.30 p.m. in the Senate chamber.
Your Excellency, the President, Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Senate, Hon. Members of the National Assembly, the National Assembly now stands adjourned until Tuesday, 25th November, 2025 at 2.30 p.m. May I take this opportunity to invite all Hon. Members and our guests to a reception at the Parliament courtyard. May I also request all Hon. Members and our guests to remain standing in your places until…
