DP Ruto promises better incomes for farmers as he woos Mt Kenya
Deputy President William Ruto (second right) during the burial of Mary Kario, mother-in-law of Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah (right), in Kiamucheru, Mathira constituency, Nyeri County, on April 19, 2022. Also accompanying him are MPs Ndindi Nyoro, Njuguna Kawanjiku and Rigathi Gachagua.
What you need to know:
- DP vows to revive some projects, including 600 kilometres of roads network in Nyeri County.
- Kenya Kwanza presidential aspirant says he will focus on uplifting the poor if elected president.
Deputy President William Ruto yesterday promised to implement the guaranteed minimum returns policy to ensure farmers get assured revenue, regardless of the performance of their crops.
Wooing the Mt Kenya region as the August presidential race gathers pace, Dr Ruto said he will implement the bottom-up economic model to move the country forward, if he will be elected as the fifth president of Kenya on August 9.
“We shall make sure all Kenyans are involved in growing our economy so that we can live in a society with equal opportunities. We shall ensure all farmers will benefit from their sweat by having guaranteed minimum return for their produce.
“This is because the economy of the country is not supposed to be controlled by a few individuals” Dr Ruto said yesterday.
He was speaking during the burial of Mary Wamuyu Kario, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichug’wah’s mother-in-law, in Kiamucheru village, Mathira, Nyeri County.
He furthered his criticism of the 2018 Handshake deal between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga, maintaining that it had derailed the government’s development agenda.
The DP vowed to revive some projects, including 600 kilometres of roads network in the county, claiming they had stalled because of the handshake between President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga.
He was accompanied by, among other politicians, MPs Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu), Rigathi Gachagua (Mathira), and Njuguna Kawanjiku (Kiambaa).
The Kenya Kwanza presidential aspirant told the gathering that he would focus on uplifting the poor.
“We have had some problems since the onset of the handshake. Some people who have no agenda for development joined us and took us the reggae way.
“We only have three months to the elections and we shall go back to what we know best, development of our country. We are having problems with our economy and shall use the next elections as a chance to revive it and that is why we have forced the conversation about our economy” Dr Ruto said.
Mr Gachagua, for his part, claimed that his support for the DP had resulted in the halting of key projects in his constituency by the national government.
The lawmaker said many projects, including road and water projects, had been stopped by the national government owing to his support for Dr Ruto. He told the DP to revive the projects if he wins the presidency come the general election.
“When Ichung’wah was the chairman of the Budget committee, he set aside a lot money for projects in Mt Kenya, but when the handshake happened, everything was diverted to another region,” Mr Gachagua said.
