Ruto blames Ukraine, Russia war for Africa’s economic woes

By Peter Ochieng

President William Ruto has once again heaped blame on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war for economic hardships in Africa, and Kenya for that matter.

Ruto, who spoke on Tuesday during a media press briefing upon the arrival of Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, said the war has led to an escalation in commodity prices in Africa.

“Commodity prices have escalated because of the war, affecting items such as fertilizer and grains. This has, in turn, led to an increase in food prices, resulting in a higher cost of living for our continent, with particularly detrimental effects on the vulnerable population,” said the president.

"It has led to a second thing, that we are now spending more money in supporting communities, bolstering the agricultural sector. We are investing more money in subsidizing food production and also subsidizing the already high cost of fertilizer," he added.

"As a continent, we believe in a rules-based world, and we believe in the charter of the United Nations (UN) that preserves the territorial integrity of countries, and the belief that aggression against one country is aggression against all countries.”

The Romanian President is in the country for a three-day state visit. Ruto has linked the Ukraine-Russia war to economic challenges in the Country, more than once since he assumed office in September 2022.

The Ukraine-Russia war began on 22nd February 2022, when Russian forces began their full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, millions of Ukrainians have fled and the country has sustained tens of billions of dollars worth of damage.

During his last months in office ahead of the August 9th, 2022 polls, retired president Uhuru Kenyatta often blamed the war on economic difficulties in the country.

However, Ruto, then Deputy President seeking to succeed Kenyatta, disputed the assertion.

Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Kwanza manifesto at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi in June 2022, Ruto said the high cost of living was being caused by the high cost of farm inputs.

"Therefore the challenge of cost of living is not too scientific. The challenge of cost of living is increasing agricultural productivity period," he stated, then.