It is not intelligent for 54 African Presidents to go and sit before one President from another country for a summit, said President Ruto at the 2023 Mo Ibrahim Forum
Kenyan President William Ruto has emerged as a fierce critic of Western powers for their unfair treatment of the African continent and its leaders. Ruto has left no stone uncovered since taking office as the president of the Eastern African nation in September 2022, calling for African solidarity to fight against ‘evil powers’ from their Western counterparts.
As the voice of African unification, Ruto recently criticized the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for categorizing African nations as high-risk borrowers and imposing higher interest rates on them than on developed nations, which receive low-cost loans from lending institutions.
Speaking during a round-table with President of France Emmanuel Macron, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and the President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga at the New Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris, President Ruto called for the establishment of a new financial architecture which promotes equality among nations.
Ruto boldly objected to the World Bank and IMF controlling resources, claiming that the action primarily benefits a small group of people, particularly rich countries, while marginalizing poor countries, particularly African ones. He told off the leaders that Africa is not after free things as some regions think.
"We need a financial transaction tax at a global level where even countries like Kenya pay. We do not want anything for free," said President Ruto.
"We want resources controlled not by IMF and World Bank because in IMF and World Bank power is in the hands of few people.”
In response to unfair resource access occasioned by the two financial institutions, President Ruto emphasized that a new financial architecture will ensure that every nation, big or small, has equal access to resources. According to Ruto, the new financial order will help the world overcome poverty and climate change.
He echoed similar sentiments during a joint session of the Congolese Parliament in Brazzaville on July 7, where he was on a two-day state visit. Ruto said African leaders and parliaments must speak with one voice against what he termed as flawed international financial systems. He said leaders must lobby for reforms in global financial organizations to address the continent's debt crisis.
“It is, therefore, clear that if we do not solve the debt issue, it will be impossible to address the climate crisis.”
Ruto, French President Macron, , IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and World Bank Group Ajay Banga at the recent New Global Financing Pact Summit in Paris
The Kenyan leader has also joined other nations such as China and India in a strong demand for de-dollarisation, urging African countries to abandon U.S. dollars in favour of local currencies when purchasing and selling goods. Ruto explained that the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has established a mechanism, the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS), allowing traders on the continent to conduct business in their local currencies.
In a speech to the Djibouti Parliament in mid-June 2023, Ruto emphasized the importance of reducing dependency on the dollar for trade transactions between Djibouti and Kenya, highlighting Kenya's support for the Pan-African payment and settlement system and quizzed the need to use the U.S. dollar in economic transactions between the two countries.
"Why is it necessary for us to buy things in Djibouti and pay in dollars? Why? There’s no reason," said Ruto, clarifying that his intention is to advance free commerce among African countries rather than to oppose the U.S. dollar.
He recommended that while payments for purchases made from the United States might still be paid in dollars, payments made to Djibouti by Kenya or any African nation should be done in local currency.
In early June, Ruto made a similar remark at a Nairobi forum on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He called out African nations to embrace the Pan-African payment system, noting that the U.S. dollar hamper trade across the continent.
“We have a mechanism where we can settle all our payments, whether between our countries or externally using our local currencies. And we have an organism like the one that has been put up by the Afriximbank so that we don't have to be hostage to any one currency or the other,” stated President Ruto.
President Ruto asked African heads of state to rally financial institutions in their nations to join the new system, saying that accepting PAPSS would be a key milestone in boosting regional economic integration and economic prosperity.
Africa must take decisive steps to strengthen its financial institutions, says President Ruto pictured here with a visiting delegation from Afreximbank
"My brothers, you have a compelling job to do. First of all, we must take decisive steps to strengthen our financial institutions to effectively support a strong private sector performance in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and general Pan African business,” added Ruto.
The vibrant Ruto also implored African leaders to fully support Afreximbank, saying it is the continent's organization that supports the development, financing, and implementation of identified projects, during a meeting with Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at State House in Nairobi.
Additionally, Ruto has expressed his disappointment with how African presidents are treated during foreign trips. He provided an example of African presidents being put in a bus to attend Queen Elizabeth's burial ceremony in the U.K. during the Mo Ibrahim Governance Weekend at the Kenya International Convention Centre in Nairobi.
This was despite other International presidents driving themselves to the funeral. For example, U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden travelled in the "Beast," an armour-plated Cadillac.
"We have these meetings with Africa-USA, Africa-Europe, Africa-Turkey, Africa-India and now we are waiting for Africa-Russia and Africa-Japan. Sometimes we are mistreated you know, we are loaded into buses like schools kids and it is not right," revealed Ruto.
While addressing the Pan-African Parliament Summit on Climate Policy and Equity in South Africa in May, the Kenyan Head of state revealed that African Presidents are not given enough time to share their issues in the forums abroad. According to Ruto, each president is assigned one and a half minutes to contribute to such meetings, which needs to be improved.
“What kind of outcome you expect where 50 heads are sitting and everybody is asked to use one and a half minutes?” asked Ruto.
Ruto highlighted that African leaders are interested in something other than gourmet meals and photograms but rather in the opportunity to discuss their concerns and find answers to their people's difficulties.
“This time around any other invitation must respect the rules of our continent. Anybody who wants us to take them seriously, they must first respect our architecture. If they want a fruitful engagement, they should engage our continent in a manner that we can effectively represent our people and we can effectively discharge our mandate and articulate our issues,” added furious Ruto.
According to Ruto, the leaders have decided that the African Union will represent them going forward as a single entity to such forums by the A.U. chair and Regional Economic Committees.
"If we don't respect ourselves, nobody is going to respect us. And part of that respecting ourselves is when we talk about African problems and African solutions. We must be serious about the solutions and must not be rhetorical. It must be accompanied by what realistically and practically we are doing with our capacity,” he added.
Ruto has also called for an African Union Reform Agenda to guarantee that the roles of the Bureau and Summits are adequately rationalized. He suggested reviewing funding arrangements to ensure that members predominantly fund A.U. budgets.
He said that the A.U. budget, paid mainly by donors, stifles further growth in the continent since they decide how the funds are invested.
"The Pan-African Assembly must urgently review the funding arrangements to ensure that Africa union budgets are financed primarily by members and secondarily by external partners. This will require a mechanism where African Union member states are up to date with their contributions with regard to all our commitments, as much as done our most core mandates depend on the goodwill of development partners," reiterated Ruto.
Ruto has also called on the warring parties in Sudan to stop the violence and sign an unconditional ceasefire through a cessation of hostilities agreement. He spoke on July 10 in Addis Ababa during the IGAD Quartet Heads of State and Government meeting that focussed on the Sudan conflict.
Also present were Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu, UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, Djibouti Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and representatives from South Sudan and rival factions.
President Ruto has taken the lead in efforts to call warring factions in Sudan to order.
Ruto expressed alarm over the escalation of conflicts, frequent violations of multiple ceasefire agreements, and the spread of violence outside of Khartoum, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan.
The Sudan conflict has claimed thousands of lives and displaced approximately 3 million people, including 2.2 million IDPs and 615,000 refugees who have since crossed the border to neighbouring countries.
Members of the IGAD Quartet agreed to take substantial efforts to provide prompt humanitarian aid to all Sudanese affected by the conflict, with a special focus on vulnerable populations, including women, children, and people with disabilities.
They further resolved to call the East Africa Standby Force (EASF) summit to discuss the possibility of deploying the EASF to protect civilians and provide humanitarian access.
The leaders urged neighbouring states to increase their efforts to supply humanitarian help and take the necessary steps to remove any logistical hurdles to the delivery of humanitarian aid, such as visa and customs procedures.
Despite being in office for less than a year, President Ruto has spoken out against what other African leaders have failed to do in their entire life. The Kenyan president appears to be following in the footsteps of former Ghana President Kwame Nkrumah, who sought to unite, a move that will put him at odds with Western superpowers. Some people also compare him to the late Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan de facto leader.
