Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary (CS) Prof. Kithure Kindiki has urged Kenyans to support President William Ruto, even as the government seeks to rebuild public trust in its service delivery to the citizenry.
Speaking during the launch of the Fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP-IV) 2023-2027 framework, held at Chuka University, in Tharaka Nithi County, Kindiki explained that the government may seem to have done little in the first two years of Kenya Kwanza administration, mainly due to economic challenges facing the country.
“In the first two years, we have not been able to do much in way of development projects. The government was mainly involved in paying debts and stabilizing the economy, but now going forward you are going to see the president and other top government officials come here, not just to visit, but also to launch and commission the various projects the government will be rolling out in the next financial year,” he said.
In his remarks, the CS drummed up support for the Kenya Finance Bill 2024, while giving a commitment that the government was working to ensure they revive and complete stalled projects as well as commission new ones.
He also noted that the government was on course to lower the dollar value even further, a move that will have a big effect in the economy and livelihoods of Kenyans, who depend much on imported products, since the manufacturing capacity of the country is still low.
“I want to thank Kenyans for their patience and I bring a message of hope that the worst days are now behind us. Going forward, elected leaders will have something to tell the people. They will have a project to witness to completion, before the end of their terms, now that things are better. The country was in debt and was almost bankrupt, but now we are not in a bad place,” reiterated Kindiki.
The CS called for unity, saying anyone who undermines the stability and unity of Kenya, was an enemy of the country.
He asked political leaders to prioritize peace and respect, and avoid inciting Kenyans along tribal lines.
Kindiki, who has mainly been meeting security officers in his first two years as CS, said his ministry would prioritize more Town Hall meetings as part of public participation now that the government was stable.
He further asked security and national government officers to be diligent in their service delivery.
“I know many of you are doing a good job, but the few of us who are not aligned with public interest, we will have to ask you to look for something else to do. We will not transfer you because transferring you is transferring one problem from one county to another and that is not right”, the CS said.
He disclosed that the President would be visiting Tharaka Nithi County in three weeks’ time for a development tour of the region.
Tharaka Member of Parliament George Gitonga Murugara in his remarks criticized the ‘One Man, One Vote, One Shilling’ campaign saying every region has the right to progress and develop, not at the expense of others, but as integral part of the larger country.
Murugara, who also chairs the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, said 18 counties were at the risk of getting a reduced allocation if the formula was adopted.
“Tharaka Nithi is a small county with a small population and a small county revenue allocation. If we implement the one man, one shilling, one vote formula, we will lose 1.4 billion as a county. The same will affect more than 18 other counties, which will lose what they have been receiving. We should be talking about county allocations going up. Let us continue giving counties the money they are receiving and even increase the allocations in the future,” he said.
His Chuka/Igambang’ombe counterpart Patrick Munene said the President had given a directive that each constituency receive Sh50 million for rural electrification projects, where he asked Kenyans to support the Finance Bill to facilitate the implementation of these and even more projects.
Munene called on elected leaders to be accountable for public funds, which are sourced from the taxpayer, and asked county governments to align their projects to the government’s ministerial budget allocations.
The MP also drummed up support for less developed counties to be considered in the revenue sharing formula and called for unity in the country.
“Let us stop tribalism. The bottom-up model should improve counties which are less developed. We have come from bad times as a country and tribalism shouldn’t be a topic in Kenya anymore,” he said.
Among the priority projects for Tharaka Nithi County in the Fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP-IV) 2023-2027 framework are the completion of the county headquarters, digitalization of all payments into government to increase revenue collection, Financing Locally led Climate Action Programme, the Credit Guarantee Scheme, and Aquaculture Business Development Programme.
Also present were Principal Secretaries Patrick Kilemi (Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development) and Betsy Njagi (Blue Economy), who presented the County Specific programmes in the MTP-IV that covers the period 2023-2027.
By David Mutwiri and Blaise Gitonga
