The government has been defined by its commitment to finding solutions to the challenges facing Kenyans, President William Ruto has said.
The President said the government has identified the key challenges and has embarked on addressing them without excuses or abandoning responsibility.
He explained that his administration is implementing bold and decisive reforms in various sectors, including agriculture, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
“My assurance to you is that we will discharge our responsibility,” he said.
Speaking during a church service at Presbyterian Teachers’ College Rubate jn Chuka Igambang’ombe Constituency, Tharaka-Nithi County, he pointed out that Kenyans are already reaping the benefits of reforms.
The President was accompanied by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Governors Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka-Nithi), Cecily Mbarire (Embu) and Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), as well as MPs and MCAs.
The President cited education, saying many the implementation of the Competency-Based Education had been threatened by various obstacles.
“We had a problem with our education. We did not look for someone to blame. We looked for solutions. We hired more teachers, we built more classrooms, and we changed the university funding model,” he said.
On agriculture, President Ruto said the cost of farm inputs, especially fertiliser was high, while cartels and brokers had dominated the sector.
“We subsidised fertiliser, digitised the buying of the input and thus dealt with cartels. Today, maize, coffee and sugar farmers are earning more because we looked for the solution,” he said.
The provision of universal healthcare, he noted, has improved since the introduction of the Social Health Authority (SHA) that replaced the defunct National Hospital Infrastructure Fund, which had piled up huge debts of up to KSh30 billion and did not serve all Kenyans.
“We did not want to blame other people. We decided to develop a new model of delivering healthcare in Kenya,” he said.
The President said his mission is to transform the country, noting that he is focused on the next generation, and not the next election.
“We have the plan, the resources, and the energy to do it,” he said.
He called on leaders to endeavour to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
The President said he was confident that Kenyans will re-elect him in the 2027 election on account of his government’s development record.
President Ruto urged Kenyans to judge leaders on their development record.
He warned against leaders who are out to impose their will on the people by purporting to make decisions on their behalf.
The President said no one will take away the sovereignty of the people to decide their destiny.
“Such leaders are worse than slave traders and colonialists,” he said.
Later, President Ruto handed over the newly-built Chuka Modern Market Tharaka Nithi County.
He said the KSh300 million market is one of the 10 modern facilities being built in the county at a cost of KSh1.5 billion.
He committed to building phase two of the market at a cost of KSh1 billion to accommodate morethan 1,000 traders, complete with a basement bus park.
The President said the government is investing KSh7.5 billion in the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units and KSh2.7 billion hostels that will accommodate 6,000 college and university students in the county.
In addition, he said the government has secured KSh7 billion for the construction of a modern Nithi Bridge and committed to expanding the Makutano-Meru-Maua road into a dual carriageway.
In the past three years, President Ruto noted that the government has connected 12,000 households to electricity in Tharaka Nithi County.
This year, he pointed out, the government has allocated KSh920 million to connect an additional 9,000 households.
The President commended Tharaka-Nithi residents for registration under SHA, which he said stands at 70 per cent.
Prof Kindiki told the opposition that leadership is not about chest-thumping but service delivery to the people.
“You do not have to declare yourself the leader of a certain region. It is your work as a leader that will make the people recognise you and declare you their leader,” he said.
The Deputy President also explained that the government is focused on delivering its commitments to the people.
Governor Njuki applauded President Ruto’s develooment record in the county, citing the construction of the Chuka Market.
He said the President has exceeded the expectations of the people of Tharaka-Nithi County.
Governor Waiguru warned the people of Central Kenya against a section of opposition leaders, who she said are not genuine and have been sending emissaries to government officials in an effort to negotiate.
