President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga have shared their New Year's messages with Kenyans.
Speaking in Mombasa on Saturday, December 31, while welcoming the new year, the Head of State said that the year 2022 had a lot of challenges including drought and the effects of Covid-19, and thanked Kenyans for persevering.
President Ruto further thanked Kenyans for heading to the ballot to elect their new leaders, adding that the nation made history by conducting a peaceful election.
He added that his government had to make difficult decisions when he took office because the country was doing well and there was a need to change the foundation of the economy.
"When I came into office, I had to make difficult decisions about our economy because we were not doing well and we need to change the foundation of our economy. I am very confident that we have now laid a foundation that will take our economy away from dependence on debt to dependence on revenues that are raised by taxpayers.
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"I wish you all a happy new year 2023. I look forward to working with all of you so that we can move our nation ahead," the president said.
On his part, Raila said that the nation experienced difficult economic times in 2022 but maintained that he was looking forward to a better year.
"We had a challenging 2022, with a hotly contested election leading to circumstances exacerbated by the difficult economic conditions prevailing as we enter 2023.
"I am however buoyed and looking forward to a better year and better times in 2023. I wish you all a Happy New Year 2023," Raila stated.
The ODM leader said that he is looking forward to a robust conversation on ways how to improve the constitution and governance institutions.
