Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has defended President William Ruto’s development record, asserting that the Kenya Kwanza administration has fulfilled the majority of its 2022 election promises and deserves another term to complete its agenda.
Speaking to UDA polling centre officials in Manyatta, Embu County, Kindiki highlighted achievements in education, healthcare, agriculture, roads, housing, and youth employment as proof that the administration has delivered on its manifesto commitments.
He stated that the government had increased the education budget from Ksh500 billion in 2022 to Ksh784 billion this year, recruiting 100,000 teachers, with an additional 20,000 expected to be hired next month.
“There is no administration in the Republic of Kenya that has employed more teachers than the administration of William Ruto and UDA,” Kindiki said, arguing that the government had achieved in four years what would previously have taken more than two decades.
The Deputy President also pointed to the strengthening of the Kenyan shilling, reduced agricultural input costs, and improved prices for some farm products as indicators of economic progress.
He noted that the price of fertiliser had fallen from Ksh7,000 to Ksh2,000 per bag, while certified maize seed prices had been halved. He also cited higher coffee and milk prices as evidence of improved returns for farmers.
In healthcare, Kindiki noted that 32 million Kenyans had been registered under the Social Health Authority, compared with eight million previously covered by NHIF, and 107,000 Community Health Promoters had been recruited and equipped.
He added that the government was expanding infrastructure, citing the construction of roads, markets, stadiums, and hospitals across the country.
Specifically in Embu, Kindiki mentioned that 425 kilometres across 11 roads were under construction at a cost of approximately KSh20 billion, and Embu Level Five Hospital is among 15 facilities being upgraded through an agreement between Kenya and Italy.
The Deputy President further stated that the government had cleared KSh177 billion in pending debts owed to contractors, enabling stalled road projects to resume.
“I am not ashamed to say that our government has made progress in development, and the remaining work we shall finish,” he affirmed.
Kindiki urged UDA supporters to defend the government’s record against what he termed lies, propaganda, and misinformation from political competitors.
He also dismissed calls for the administration to leave office after one term, emphasising that ongoing projects required continuity.
“We are not leaving this government. I told you that we formed this government through sweat and hard work,” Kindiki declared.
The Deputy President further appealed for political tolerance, urging UDA supporters not to disrupt opposition meetings and calling on all parties to conduct their activities peacefully and within the law.
With the 2027 elections approaching, Kindiki also called for unity among communities in the Mt Kenya region, stressing that political differences should not divide the Embu, Mbeere, Meru, and Kikuyu communities.
“We are one nation, one mountain, and one people, and we will remain that way. There is nowhere else we are going,” he remarked
