This week began with President William Ruto’s 1,000th day in office, with 792 days to the next General Election.  Monday was also 349 days since the June 15, 2024 Finance Bill Gen Z-led protest. For the record, it was also 446 days since the fourth Medium-Term Plan (MTP IV) 2023-2027 under Vision 2030 and Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), was published.  

Economic empowerment is this government’s latest brainwave.  Reminiscent of any regime’s final life-phase known as “bread and circuses”, this is when leaders occupy the people with goods (like bread) and entertainment (activities or events) as diversions from daily issues.  Ancient Rome is a great case study.  This “broad-based government” increasingly looks like “bread and circuses”.