Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over four years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

- A new survey by TIFA Research has revealed that the majority of Kenyans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The findings of the survey titled The TIFA National Public Issues Survey: State of the Nation, Kenya Kwanza Government Performance, 2027 Election Issues, and Foreign Relations were released on Wednesday, May 28.

From the survey, responses from 2,024 Kenyans across nine regions painted a bleak picture of economic discontent.

Around 75% of respondents believe Kenya is heading in the wrong direction under President William Ruto's administration, with 45% attributing this to the rising cost of living.

According to the survey, only 10% of the respondents think the economic situation in the country has improved since the 2022 General Election.

Other issues Kenyans are unhappy with include high unemployment (11%), human rights abuses, and corruption (both at 8%)

The survey was conducted between May 2 and May 6, 2025, across nine regions: Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift, and Western.

The survey, which was conducted through telephone interviews with respondents, had a margin of error of +/- 2.17%.

In January, President Ruto anticipates stronger economic performance in the year 2025, driven by the success of his flagship initiatives such as affordable housing, universal healthcare, and subsidised farm inputs.

During his New Year address at Kisii State Lodge on Tuesday, 31 December 2024, the president said the year ahead will be busier and will put more money into the pockets of Kenyans.

Ruto expressed confidence that the projects he launched since assuming office will help realise Kenya Kwanza’s Bottom-UP Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) in 2025.

The head of state emphasised that the year will see increased job creation to empower the youth as responsible custodians of the nation’s shared aspirations.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan economy experienced its slowest job growth since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, posing challenges to President William Ruto’s administration in tackling rising youth unemployment.

According to the 2025 Economic Survey released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Tuesday, May 6, around 782,300 new jobs were created last year, down from 848,100 the previous year.

The slowdown was attributed to high lending costs, floods that destroyed farms, and economic disruptions caused by protests against the Finance Bill 2024.

Real wages — gross earnings adjusted for inflation — declined for the sixth year running, reducing employees’ disposable income, while salaried workers continued to bear the brunt of a weakening economy.

Source: TUKO.co.ke