President William Ruto delivered the State of the Nation Address on November 20, 2025, outlining a Ksh5 trillion blueprint to transform Kenya through investments in human capital, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. The plan aims to elevate Kenya to first-world status over the next decade. Lawmakers cheered the speech with 'Tutam' chants during discussions on road expansions.
In his State of the Nation Address at Parliament in Nairobi on November 20, 2025, President William Ruto detailed a Ksh5 trillion blueprint for profound national transformation. He emphasized four pillars: human capital, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure.
For human capital, the education budget rose from Ksh490 billion in 2021 to over Ksh700 billion this year, funding infrastructure and teacher hires. He established the State Department for Science, Research and Innovation to bolster STEM training and increase research funding from 0.8% to 2% of GDP, addressing a Ksh180 billion shortfall.
In agriculture, Kenya aims to shift from importing food (Ksh500 billion bill) to exporting. The irrigation plan includes building 50 mega dams, 200 medium and small ones, and thousands of microdams, irrigating 2.5 million acres in 5-7 years. Targeted areas range from High Grand Falls in Mandera to Soin Koru in Kisumu.
For energy, from the current 2,300MW capacity, the government will add 10,000MW in seven years using renewables like geothermal, wind, hydro, solar, and nuclear.
On infrastructure, the plan involves dualing 2,500 km of highways and tarmacking 28,000 km over 10 years. Key roads include Muthaiga-Kiambu-Ndumberi, Machakos-Mariakani, and Rironi-Naivasha-Nakuru-Mau Summit (170 km, launch on November 21). The Standard Gauge Railway will extend from Naivasha to Kisumu and Malaba starting January 2026, alongside modernizing Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mombasa and Lamu ports, and Kenya Airways.
Kenya Kwanza lawmakers chanted 'Tutam' during road plans, praising Ruto. Senator Hillary Sigei and MP Elisha Odhiambo endorsed it, but MP John Makau criticized the promises as lacking implementation details, warning of higher taxes.
"These four projects are our national imperatives... this is the assignment of our generation," Ruto stated.
