John Mbadi, the Treasury and National Planning Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee, has openly declared his willingness to serve under President William Ruto’s administration, despite his allegiance to the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Mbadi is among four ODM members who were nominated for cabinet positions by Ruto after he dismissed nearly all CSs following anti-government protests.
During his appearance before the Committee on Appointments on Saturday, August 3, 2024, Mbadi was grilled on how he would align with the government’s bottom-up economic transformation agenda, which he previously did not support.
“You know very well me and you never believed in this bottom-up economy now we have found ourselves here, you know what we believed in, you know your principle must guide you. How are you going to marry these different thoughts of bottom-up economy and what you believe in? You participated in manufacturing another economic manifesto, so tell me how you will marry the two, Mr nominee, this bottom thing now that you are inside?” Suna East MP and ODM National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed asked.
Responding, Mbadi admitted the unexpected nature of Junet’s question but revealed he had anticipated such inquiries during his vetting.
“Honourable Junet asked me a question I didn’t expect to come from him but I expected to come,” he said.
Mbadi argued that he is well-suited for Ruto’s government, noting that ODM and the president’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) share a common philosophy.
“Mr Speaker I have been asked about bottom-up. Bottom-up economic transformation agenda, that is how it is called. Let me tell honourable Junet this, that bottom-up is actually a concept of UDA read Kenya Kwanza.
“But I want to tell him that if you look at the philosophy of UDA and ODM there’s no difference. Actually, they are social democrats, the two political parties promote social democracy,” Mbadi said.
He explained further the similarities between ODM and UDA’s manifestoes.
“Look at beta what is it all about? It talks about job creation, it talks about the cost of living, it talks about agricultural productivity, it talks about digital economy. What about ODM, what was in our manifesto? We talked about the same, Mbadi said,
“Actually the beta concept is on value addition, now ODM manifesto, which I participated in drafting, we had manufacturing emphasising on agriculture as raw material. So it is manufacturing supported by agriculture. But now beta is on agriculture for value addition, ODM agriculture for manufacturing – semantics,” he added.
In his final remark, the Treasury CS nominee emphasized that he would be guided by the constitution in executing his mandate if confirmed.
“But finally Mr speaker, there is the constitution and the BFA Act which will guide my conduct in office if approved,” Mbadi stated.
ODM members in cabinet
President Ruto last week nominated Ugunja MP and former National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi to head the Energy ministry, while former ODM National Chairman and nominated MP John Mbadi was picked for the Finance docket.
The Head of State further tapped ODM’s deputy party leaders Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya for the Mining and Blue Economy Ministry and the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development respectively.
President Ruto’s inclusion of opposition members in the cabinet is viewed as an effort to foster bipartisan cooperation amid ongoing political tensions.
Mbadi’s readiness to serve, despite his opposition ties, indicates a potential shift towards greater political unity in tackling Kenya’s economic and social issues.