By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, August 12, 2026 - National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has triggered an online debate after pointing to rising soft-drink consumption as evidence that some Kenyans have more disposable income.
Mbadi made the remarks while defending the economic record of President William Ruto's administration, arguing that increased demand for sodas suggests households have money left after meeting their basic needs.
“Soft drinks consumption has gone up in this country. Do you know what that tells you? Who takes sodas? Sodas people take when they have left a little more in their pockets,” Mbadi said.
The Treasury CS was responding to criticism of the government's economic performance, saying Kenya had moved away from a difficult economic position that he described as being close to “tipping” when the Kenya Kwanza administration took office.
“If it is economy, actually we should be called to be celebrated. Some of us should be given awards in this country,” Mbadi said.
His comments, however, quickly attracted criticism online, with some Kenyans questioning whether consumption of one category of goods can reasonably be used to assess the health of an entire economy.
One social-media user pointed to indicators such as real GDP per capita, household income, employment, poverty and the Human Development Index as more appropriate measures of economic wellbeing.
Another compared Mbadi's approach with conventional economic indicators, arguing that soft-drink consumption alone cannot establish whether households are actually becoming better off.
The criticism highlights an important distinction between economic activity and household welfare.
People can spend more on a particular product without necessarily having more disposable income. Consumption can change because of population growth, prices, availability of products, marketing, changing consumer preferences or other factors.
Citizen Digital also noted that Mbadi did not provide specific data showing that the reported increase in soft-drink consumption was directly caused by rising household disposable incomes.
That distinction is particularly important in Kenya, where households continue to make decisions about spending in an environment of pressure on the cost of basic necessities.
A household buying a bottle of soda, for example, does not necessarily mean that it has become wealthier. It could simply mean that the household has prioritised a small discretionary purchase while cutting spending elsewhere.
At the same time, rising consumption can provide useful economic information when examined alongside other indicators.
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Businesses monitor consumer demand because stronger sales can indicate changes in household spending patterns. But economists generally need a much wider set of indicators to determine whether an economy is improving and whether that improvement is reaching ordinary households.
The debate therefore goes beyond Mbadi's choice of soda as an example. It raises a bigger question: how should Kenya measure whether economic growth is actually improving people's lives?
Mbadi maintains that the government's economic record should be judged against the condition of the economy it inherited.
He also announced that the government is preparing additional measures aimed at easing financial pressure on Kenyans, saying a Bill would be presented to Parliament by the end of September.
“We are trying to manage, see how to give some relief to Kenyans,” he said.
The Treasury CS also defended President Ruto's promise to provide relief, saying his ministry would take steps to implement it.
The remarks come as the government continues to defend its economic policies amid persistent public concern over the cost of living.
For critics, the issue is not whether Kenyans are buying more sodas. It is whether higher consumption of discretionary goods is translating into higher real incomes, better employment, improved purchasing power and a meaningful reduction in the financial pressure facing households.
For the government, however, Mbadi's argument is that changes in consumer behaviour can also provide signs of economic recovery.
The disagreement illustrates the difficulty of communicating economic performance to the public: GDP can grow, businesses can record stronger sales and consumption can rise, while individual households may still feel financially squeezed.
That is why the controversy surrounding Mbadi's soda remarks may ultimately be less about the drink itself and more about the measure of progress Kenya's households can actually feel.