Kenya’s declared president-elect, William Ruto, has vowed to lift up his “hustler nation” with a development manifesto emphasizing a bottom-up economic approach. But given his own checkered past, some wonder if the wealthy businessman might wind up hustling his own nation.
This is a preview of Newswire
Sign up to this newsletter for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development, in your inbox daily.
Also in today’s edition: An IMF official delivers a warning on the painful trade-offs needed to tame inflation, a key WHO program comes under scrutiny, and we offer tips on how to land a job with USAID.
Ruto’s manifesto
Ruto won Kenya’s closely watched election on Aug. 9 — sort of. Perpetual opposition candidate Raila Odinga is challenging the victory in court, although unlike the past two elections, which triggered violence that killed hundreds, things are calm for now and international leaders have already been congratulating Ruto, a sign the world is ready for stability in the linchpin East African nation of 53 million.
Despite his wealth, Ruto has touted his humble beginnings selling chickens on the street to brand himself as a “hustler” who will lift up Kenya’s hard-working young people.
They need it.
As Anthony Langat reports for Devex, unemployment for people ages 15 to 24 is nearly 14%.
Ruto’s manifesto vows to provide capital to the unemployed to start businesses and commits $4.2 billion over five years to fund smallholder agriculture and the informal sector.
But Juma Nyangi of the Institute of Public Finance in Kenya tells Anthony that Ruto would be better off investing that money in security, education, electricity, and training to allow the private sector to flourish organically.
Another manifesto promise is increasing accountability and tackling corruption.
The only problem? Ruto has served as deputy to outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta since 2013, during which time both men were consistently dogged by allegations of corruption.
Based on previous election campaigns, Otsieno Namwaya of Human Rights Watch tells us that “both Ruto and Uhuru are not known to bother about honoring what they promised.”
Kenya election: What William Ruto's manifesto means for development (Pro)
+ Devex Pro members can also read a piece from our archives on ranking countries according to measures of good government. Not a Pro member yet? Start your free 15-day trial.
Taking the reins
Rory Stewart — who previously served as the U.K.’s international development secretary — will step in as the president and CEO of GiveDirectly, the cash transfer-focused organization announced early Monday. He’s replacing co-founder Michael Faye, who will transition to the role of executive chair. Stewart is expected to lead the organization into a new phase, helping it to scale up as it nears $1 billion in donations.
“With 711[million] people left in extreme poverty, and the number increasing for the first time in two decades, there’s much left to do,” Faye said.
Read: GiveDirectly taps former UK global development minister as new chief
Warnings from Wyoming
The International Monetary Fund’s Gita Gopinath is warning that life for policymakers is about to get a lot harder.
My colleague Shabtai Gold reports that Gopinath, a first deputy managing director at IMF, called on central bankers to prioritize taming inflation while urging political leaders to tailor assistance programs so they target only those in need — to avoid creating more stimulus that will lead to higher prices.
Inflationary risks are most severe for emerging markets, she said in her remarks at the U.S. Federal Reserve’s retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.
“We can’t have sustained economic growth going forward without reestablishing price stability,” she said, adding that this could mean central bankers will have to raise interest rates further, leading to a “sharp cooling of the economy and rise in unemployment.”
But bankers will have to find that sweet spot of not cooling down the economy so far that it freezes up, whether in the form of a recession or, worse, stagflation, where growth is low but inflation remains high.
In other words, we have to endure just the right amount of pain to avoid a world of hurt later.
ICYMI: IMF warns of 'gloomy' economy rife with uncertainty and high inflation
How to get hired
It’s not easy navigating the plethora of roles and rules to land a gig at the U.S. Agency for International Development, but fortunately, we have tips straight from the pros, including a country representative, grants manager, humanitarian policy expert, and IT specialist.
One nugget: Don’t always rush to join straight out of school. Get a few years under your belt working on the ground with an underserved community in the United States or overseas.
Advice from the pros: Working for USAID (Career)
Learn more: The roles that USAID contractors typically hire for (Career)
+ For Devex Career Account members we’ve assembled a step-by-step guide to help job seekers navigate the process of working for USAID. Don’t have a Career Account yet? Start your 15-day free trial today.
WHO’s right?
A recently released report criticized a key program by the World Health Organization that speeds up access to health products in low- to middle-income countries, characterizing it as hard to navigate.
Under the program, known as prequalification, WHO works with national regulators and other agencies to ensure the safety of products such as vaccines and in vitro diagnostics to streamline their delivery to low-income countries.
Researchers at Global Health Technologies Coalition and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center said the process lacked clarity and transparency.
Dr. Rogério Gaspar, director of regulation and prequalification at WHO, pushed back, saying parts of the report contain “misrepresentations and errors.”
The two will need to find some middle ground. Jamie Bay Nishi, executive director of GHTC, tells my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo that if more countries are expected to rely on WHO’s assessments for a range of health products, there needs to be a better understanding of how those assessments are actually made.
External report: WHO product review process needs better clarity
+ Devex CheckUp, our free, must-read newsletter, brings you up to speed with all the front-line and behind-the-scenes reporting on global health. Sign up today.
The FIF element
The World Bank has agreed to create a new fund to help low- and middle-income countries prepare for future pandemics.
It’s called the Financial Intermediary Fund, and it’s a good thing, write former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Sanjay Pradhan, the CEO at the Open Government Partnership, in a Devex op-ed.
The not-so-good part? No one’s figured out who’s calling the shots yet.
“Will it be G-20 governments and wealthy private foundations, or will lower-income countries and civil society be given equal voice with full voting rights?” they write. “The time to steer the governance model in the right direction is now.”
Opinion: Here we go again … Pandemic preparedness financing
Deep dive: As we gear up for the next pandemic, where’s the money?
In other news
Japan’s prime minister is pushing for an African seat on the U.N. Security Council. [Al Jazeera]
U.S. President Joe Biden will host the seventh replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in September. [WhiteHouse.Gov]
Pakistan’s climate minister described the country’s flooding, which has affected 30 million, as a “climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions.” [Reuters]
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
