President William Ruto on Sunday, October 29 downplayed critics over his numerous foreign trips.
Speaking after a church service in Eldoret, the Head of State dismissed the trolls insisting that he was traveling to cement Kenya’s relations with other countries.
He further defended the foreign trips maintaining that it was a way of securing employment opportunities for Kenyans abroad.
“There are people making noise and complaining about my traveling. That is what my job as a president entails. I am the Chief agent. I am the ambassador of Kenya in matters of development,” Ruto stated.
He added, “I travel for just two days to go search for employment for Kenyans you are making noise.”
This followed a series of social media discussions alleging that Ruto was traveling excessively.
Some even went overboard by manipulating the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) entrance by renaming it as State House.
Other social media users went to the extent of naming President Ruto ‘Natembeya’ which loosely translates to I am walking.
However, Ruto hit back at the critics indicating that his foreign trips were beneficial to the country.
While visiting Taita Taveta County, last Friday, President Ruto said his administration has cut foreign travel budget by Ksh11 billion, adding that public servants will not be allowed to attend workshops abroad.
“We have cut the travel budget by Ksh11 billion in all ministries or departments and not the Sh50 million reported by the press. There will be no foreign conferences, workshops, and bench-marking for public servants,” said Ruto.
He however announced that his foreign trips had managed to secure over 300,000 jobs for Kenyans abroad.
Additionally, Ruto announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia to unlock more employment opportunities.
