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He was in Gilgil, Nakuru on Monday for the passing-out parade of NYS recruits.
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In his address, he directed the service to increase the number of recruits to 20,000 in their next intake saying this year's cohort was almost 15,000 recruits and he is happy about that.
Image: PCS
The unveiling of Raila Odinga as Kenya’s candidate for the AUC chairmanship seat was the most outstanding event in President William Ruto’s diary for the week.
The ceremony held at State House, Nairobi, Tuesday saw three EAC presidents—Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Samia Suluhu (Tanzania), and Salva Kiir (South Sudan)—grace the event.
In his address, Ruto heaped praise on Raila, saying he is the ideal candidate to lead the African Union Commission and that he possesses the requisite credentials.
The Head of State told the leaders that Raila possesses the professional capacity and experience to lead the commission.
He said not only will Kenya stand to benefit under his leadership if clinches the seat but also the continent at large.
According to him, Raila’s longevity in leadership has been sustained by an “unrelenting devotion to democratic change” as the foundation of sustainable freedom and prosperity.
Sunday
Ruto was the chief guest during the homecoming ceremony for Cooperative Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya in Kakamega.
In his speech, the President stated that the broad-based government offers leaders a unique opportunity for a better Kenya that embraces all and offers everyone an equal opportunity to participate in building the nation.
Earlier in the day, he inspected the construction of the Kobujoi Market in Nandi and later launched the last-mile connectivity project.
Monday
The Head of State was in Gilgil, Nakuru, for the passing-out parade of NYS recruits.
In his address, he directed the service to increase the number of recruits to 20,000 in their next intake, saying this year's cohort was almost 15,000 recruits, and he is happy about that.
Image: PCS
He said the government will make sure more young people benefit from training offered by the NYS.
"I am very happy the number of recruits was almost 15,000. As I instructed, our intention is that by next year we will recruit 20,000 at a go.
He also announced plans to have the NYS recruits undergo basic training on use of firearms to ensure that they're ready to respond and protect the country when a need arises.
He directed the Cabinet Secretaries for Interior, Defence and Public Service to begin talks immediately to make this come to fruition.
Image: RAILA ODINGA / X
“The minister responsible for NYS who is here with me should, in consultation with the Ministry of Defence and Interior, further initiative to make sure that the paramilitary training that these young men and women go through will include a basic course in firearms,” he said.
Wednesday
At State House, Nairobi, he received credentials from three new ambassadors from Switzerland, Ivory Coast and Mali before embarking on his much-awaited tour of the Raila’s Nyanza backyard.
His tour began in Migori, where he launched the Kegonga cluster water project that will produce 1.85 million litres of water a day, benefiting 14,800 households.
He later rolled out the lower Kuja irrigation project that will irrigate 19,000 acres of land, producing 80,000 tonnes of rice a year.
“This will further our food security agenda,” he said.
He also launched the tarmacking of link roads in Suna East and later wound up by the day by addressing residents in Migori and Kisumu towns.
“What unites us is greater than what divides us. Let us combine efforts and take Kenya to the next level,” he told the residents.
Thursday
On the second day of his tour in Homa Bay, he started with the commissioning of the Oyugis water project that will benefit residents of Kabondo Kasipul and Kasipul.
Image: PCS
He said Homa Bay was growing fast and required 120 million litres of water daily.
The ongoing, Kendu Bay, Oyugis, and West Karachuonyo water projects, he noted, will help end shortages and provide more than 11, 000 households in the county with clean water.
Ruto also inspected the Homa Bay fish market and later commissioned the Rusinga Ring road before making several stopovers to address residents.
He was also gifted a "humongous" fish at Homa Bat town.
This is after he had been welcomed by Kochia dancers with whistles and dances.
He also graced the thanksgiving ceremony for Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi in Magunga.
Friday
President William Ruto on Friday met with British High Commissioner Neil Wigan at the Kisumu State Lodge.
In a brief after the meeting, Ruto said Kenya and Britain enjoy deep, robust, and historical diplomatic ties.
He said the ties are centred on economic, cultural, and people-to-people relations.
The Head of State said these ties have had a tremendous impact on many spheres of citizens and both nations.
"Kenya and Britain enjoy deep, robust and historical diplomatic ties centred on economic, cultural and people-to-people ties. This relationship has had a tremendous impact on many spheres of our citizens and nations," Ruto said.
On Friday evening, the President engaged the residents in the Lake Region town hall edition in Kisumu.
During the Town Hall, the President emphasised that when the opportunity arose for him to consider broadening the administration, he took the chance to make Kenya better.
"I could not miss that opportunity because I know the value of making every Kenyan feel that they belong. It is the reason why I took the opportunity to create a broad-based government."
The head of state also said he will launch a rescue centre in Kisumu on Friday, which will help save lives during accidents as fisher folks in the lakeside city go about their activities.
The President regretted that too many lives are lost in Lake Victoria whenever fishing boats capsize.
“We lose close to 5,000 people in Lake Victoria every year because of the kind of gears they are using, the boasts they are using [and] the capsizing that takes place,” he said.
“As an East African region, we are going to be launching tomorrow a rescue centre that will have all the necessary facilities including farther down the road a chopper than rescue people who have accidents in Lake Victoria,” Ruto added.
Saturday
The Head of Ste was equally busy on Saturday as he broke ground for the Lake Victoria Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, a project of the Kenya Maritime Authority being undertaken by the Kenya Shipyards Ltd to enhance marine safety in Lake Victoria.
This is part of a KSh3.5 billion infrastructure upgrade at marine sites in Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, and Migori counties.
President Ruto also commissioned the Lake Basin Development Authority Rice Mill Project in Kibos, with a processing capacity of 4,000 tonnes an hour.
This will promote rice cultivation in the more than 6,000 acres in Chiga, East Kano, and West Kano schemes, supporting more than 10,000 households.
He then laid the foundation stone for the construction of the 2,384-unit Lumumba Estate Affordable Housing Project in Kisumu Central.
This is part of the 10,000 units set to be built in Kisumu County under the housing programme, which mainly targets Kenyans at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
The President urged local youth to take advantage of the many opportunities brought by the housing project to earn better livelihoods.
"I have instructed the contractor that construction work at this project will be undertaken by the youth of Kisumu," he said.
Additionally, he said that the government will build 12 fresh produce markets in Kisumu County and spend Sh800 million to connect 12,000 households to power.
The President wound up his visit to the region by commissioning the Nyabondo Trauma Centre in Nyakach Constituency.
He thanked the European Union for equipping the mission hospital with a Sh500 million grant.
The 150-bed capacity facility boasts specialised equipment, including theatres, an ICU and a high-dependency unit, mainly for the treatment of accident victims.