By Peter Ochieng

President William Samoei Ruto delivered his maiden speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Wednesday night.

Ruto flew to the US shortly after attending the burial of Queen Elizabeth II in London, United Kingdom on Monday.

Addressing Heads of Nations and Governments during the 77th UNGA session, Ruto challenged World leaders to embrace the ‘bottom-up’ economic model, which gives ‘hustlers’ a level playing field to make it in life.

Hustler and bottom-up were common terms during Ruto’s August 09, 2022, presidential campaigns, seemingly propelling him to State House.

“The ingenuity, optimism, resilience and energy in this ever bustling bottom is sometimes called hustling. These hustlers take nothing for granted, surviving overwhelming odds and frequently succeeding greatly,” said President Ruto.

He went on, “In the words of Abraham Lincoln, things may come to those who wait but only things get bind by those who hustle. It is time to bolster the resilience of our nations, to mainstream these millions through deliberate strategies and efforts for economic intrusion by building back better from the bottom-up.”

President Ruto made his address, hours after United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Manuel Guterres and US President Joe Biden had spoken.

His speech which lasted over 20 minutes touched on various issues, ranging from climate change, food production and the drought situation, especially around the horn of Africa.

“Global food prices have impeded our momentum and obstructed our focus on achieving fundamental transformations towards sustainable development.”

He invited development partners to invest in Africa, especially in the blue economy sector.