Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said President William Ruto is keen on fulfilling his word asking Kenyans to accord him time as it is just only two years after taking office.
Speaking on Friday when he hosted a follow-up economic forum with elected and grassroots leaders from Kajiado County at the Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi, the DP said the President is working round-the-clock to tackle the economic challenges as well as hastening implementation of the development agenda.
“It is unfair to put pressure on the President to deliver on the development agenda before the end of the term he has been elected to serve. The President is serving a five-year term. He has just completed two years and some months. He is on track to deliver what he promised Kenyans,” said Kindiki.
So far, in Kajiado County the government has completed construction of the 70km Ngong-Suswa Road, the tender for the 66km Ilasit-Rombo-Taveta has been floated, tarmacking of Ngong-Kibiko road completed, construction of a tomato agro-processing plant in Rombo is almost complete, dozens of milk coolers distributed in each of the five constituencies among other key economic activities.
The Deputy President said he is assisting the President to ensure the promises have been fulfilled on time.
“The President knows he has an exam to sit in 2027 and he will be ready for it. That is why he has focused on development and faster delivery of the projects he promised before elections,” he added.
The Deputy President said the President is ready to make difficult decisions for the benefit of Kenyans.
“President Ruto is a transformative leader. Transformative leaders may not be popular in the short term because of their bold decisions that might dent their popularity temporarily. In the end, they will be appreciated because of the productive decisions. The President has decided to be a transformative one,” said Kindiki.
The DP said the economic forum was to review the progress of the implementation of the county economic charter that was agreed on before the last elections.
The Friday meeting is the third of a series of forums for each of the 47 counties. He has already met with leaders from Embu and Taita Taveta.
“We are reviewing the progress of the development projects in Kajiado County. As a government, we want to hear from the people of Kajiado on what they want us to do to realise faster development in the county. This is not a political meeting. We want to have consensus on the development priorities because we must deliver the development agenda for the county as promised,” he said.
For farmers to earn more from their livestock products, the government is completing construction of Kenanie Leather Industrial Park in Machakos County.
“The Park will attract investors who will buy hides and skins from Livestock farmers in Kajiado and across the country at higher prices and convert them into value-added products to be sold locally and globally,” added the DP.
The leaders identified completion of road projects, expansion of last-mile electricity connectivity to each more residents, a modern abattoir, improving health services and facilities, clean water provision, construction of dams and water pans, land adjudication and title deeds, new markets, irrigation systems among others.
“We are on track to deliver on the promises we made in Kajiado. For faster delivery, the people must take the lead in implementing them. That is why the annual review meetings are critical. It is my duty to call for these reviews every year as the Deputy President and UDA Deputy Party leader. I will be updating the President on the outcome of these review meetings,” he noted.
At the same time, Prof Kindiki said interventions to strengthen the economy are bearing fruit adding that crucial value chains are being boosted for Kenyans to earn more.
“The economic indicators are promising, for instance, for the first time, we have not imported sugar for the first time in 22 years because of adequate local production. Our farmers have produced enough for our consumption. In the maize subsector, we didn't import the 10 million bags like before because our farmers produced enough,” he said.
As thousands of Kenyans continue to register for Taifa Care, the DP said the country is on the right path to achieving Universal Health Coverage.
“We are on course to achieve Universal Health Coverage. Taifa Care has reported record registration. So far, 18 million Kenyans have registered for it. That is more than half the total number of Kenyans registered under NHIF (9 million),” he said.
