President William Ruto has declared his ultimate dream that soon no Kenyan will desire to migrate to America, Canada, or Europe even if offered a free visa, because the country will become a global beacon of opportunity and dignity. Speaking in the United States, where he travelled for peacekeeping among East African nations (Rwanda-DRC) and signed a 25-year health deal with the US, the Head of State presented an ambitious vision of a transformed Kenya, where decent jobs, thriving families, and national pride maintain talent at home.
“I have a dream that in the near future, no Kenyan will desire to migrate to America, Canada, or Europe in search of dignity or opportunity – not even if the visa is offered for free,” he told thousands of cheering university students and young entrepreneurs.
The President said the ongoing bottom-up economic model is deliberately designed to reverse decades of brain drain that saw over 1.2 million skilled Kenyans relocate abroad between 2010 and 2024, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs diaspora records.
He announced that the government targets the creation of 1.5 million new formal jobs annually starting in 2026 through massive investment in digital hubs, affordable housing construction, green energy projects, and agro-processing zones all the way from Turkana to Kwale.
Ruto highlighted early wins: the number of Kenyan youth applying for the U.S. Diversity Visa lottery dropped 18 percent this year compared to 2024, while returnee registrations under the new “Rudi Nyumbani” incentive scheme jumped to 42,000 in the last quarter alone.
“When a software engineer in Seattle hears that Konza Technopolis is paying better salaries and offering free housing for the first two years, why would he stay in the snow?” he asked, drawing loud applause.
To make the dream tangible, the President unveiled a ten-point National Talent Retention Strategy that includes:
- Tax holidays for companies employing more than 500 Kenyan graduates,
- subsidised mortgages for returning professionals under 40,
- and a mandatory 40 per cent local staffing quota in all multinational firms operating in Kenya by 2030.
He also directed the Ministry of Education to double annual university funding for STEM courses from the current Sh28 billion to Sh56 billion starting next financial year so that “no bright child misses engineering or medicine because of fees.”
For the thousands of graduates who marched from Uhuru Park waving placards reading “My Future is Here”, the President’s dream felt closer than ever. Whether it becomes reality now rests on execution, funding, and the collective will to turn bold words into irreversible progress.
