National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has offered an unconventional metric to defend the economic record of President William Ruto’s administration: how much soda Kenyans are drinking.
Responding to criticism of the government’s handling of the economy, Mbadi argued that rising demand for soft drinks points to households having more disposable income after covering their essential needs.
He reasoned that soda is typically a discretionary purchase, one people make only once their basic needs are met, so an uptick in consumption signals improved purchasing power. Speaking to the logic behind the claim, he said sodas are bought by people who have a little extra left in their pockets.
“Soft drinks consumption has gone up in this country. Soft drink. Do you know what that tells you? Who takes sodas? Sodas people take when they have left a little more in their pockets,” Mbadi.
The remarks came as Mbadi pushed back against critics of the administration’s economic performance, insisting the government deserved credit rather than condemnation.
He described the economy as having been close to collapse when the Kenya Kwanza administration took office, and argued that stabilising it since then was an achievement worth celebrating rather than an award-worthy feat gone unrecognised.
Mbadi went further, suggesting that much of the opposition to Ruto’s government was rooted in ethnicity rather than genuine disagreement over economic policy — a claim likely to stoke further controversy given the sensitivity of ethnic politics in Kenya.
“If it is economy, actually we should be called to be celebrated. Some of us should be given awards in this country. Because we have removed Kenya to where it—it was almost tipping. The truth is most of these people are fighting Ruto on ethnic grounds. Not on economy,” he said.
Beyond defending the government’s track record, Mbadi used the moment to preview upcoming policy action. He said a bill aimed at easing the financial burden on Kenyans would be tabled in Parliament by the end of September, framing it as part of the administration’s effort to deliver on President Ruto’s promise of relief for citizens.
When pressed on whether that promise would actually be honoured, Mbadi was dismissive of the doubt, asserting that his ministry would see it through on behalf of both the government and the President.
No further details were given on what the bill would contain or how the relief would be structured.
Online Backlash Swift and Pointed
Mbadi’s soda comment quickly drew ridicule on X, where critics accused him of reducing a complex economy to a single, trivial data point. Several commentators noted that standard tools for measuring economic wellbeing — such as GDP per capita, the Human Development Index, poverty rates and median household income — were readily available and far more rigorous than beverage sales.
Others pointed to the World Bank’s own basket of indicators, including real GDP per capita, employment figures and industrial production, contrasting these with what they characterised as Mbadi’s preferred yardstick of soft-drink bottles sold.
Some responses went further, arguing that other consumption indicators actually tell a less flattering story. Critics pointed to reported declines in power consumption, fuel usage, cement and steel sales, and vehicle purchases — all traditionally seen as proxies for broader economic activity — as evidence that paints a weaker picture than the one Mbadi presented.
Notably, Mbadi did not present specific figures during his remarks to substantiate the claimed rise in soft-drink consumption, nor did he offer data linking that rise directly to higher household disposable income. Economists generally caution that consumption of any single product can be shaped by multiple factors beyond income growth, including pricing changes, population growth, product availability and shifting consumer tastes — making it an unreliable standalone gauge of economic health.
The exchange underscores a broader tension in Kenya’s public discourse: while the government continues to point to macroeconomic indicators as evidence of a stabilising economy, many citizens say those gains have yet to be felt in the form of relief from the high cost of living.