Uhuru, Ruto take vote hunt to Bomet
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will today take the Jubilee party campaigns to Bomet County, the home of Governor Isaac Ruto.
Governor Ruto, a Nasa co-principal, has enumerated issues he wants President Uhuru Kenyatta to address in today's tour of the county.
Mr Ruto said poor roads infrastructure, low prices of green tea leaf and milk, shortages of maize, failure to bail out tea farmers were some of the issues top in the list.
The Chama Cha Mashinani party leader said there was nothing to talk home about on Jubilee development agenda in the area apart from "launching and re- launching of roads which had not taken off"
Speaking at Siongiroi trading centre in Chepalungu sub-county during a CCM rally the Governor said he would be attending any of the President's functions.
“The prices of tea leaf at KTDA is at an all-time low with one kilogram of green leaf selling at sh15 which is equivalent to the retail price of one egg. It is very sad indeed,” Mr Ruto said.
Governor Ruto said the government had failed to bail out small scale tea growers in the south rift owed Sh2.4 billion by Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) used for construction factories constructed recently in Kericho and Bomet Counties" Mr Ruto said.
He added, " The government has already bailed out farmers in the miraa, coffee and sugar cane sectors and revived the Pan Paper mills in Webuye at an average of Sh2 billion per sector yet the tea sector has been left out,"
“The Jubilee government has pumped Sh1 billion to revamp the Eldoret KCC plant and we want to know if the same will apply to Sotik New KCC,” Mr Ruto said.
He said that the nitrogen plant in Sotik which the President will open was put up at Sh120 million by the national government after Bomet County government led in 2015 in adopting and implementing Artificial Insemination Services to improve dairy breeds and increase milk," Mr Ruto said.
He dismissed recent claims by the DP that he was opposed to construction of roads and a university in the county.
“The Deputy President while in Narok South claimed 250 kilometers of tarmac had been constructed in Bomet County. I want the President to drive around the said roads and tell us where the said kilometers are,” He said.
“Uhuru should also tell us what happened to the Mulot, Sigor, Dikirr tarmac road which was named Southern Corridor which was mapped during the tenure of Franklin Bett as Roads Minister," Mr Ruto said.
He also stated "That also applies to Tenwek, Merigi, Tegat, Chemaner, Sogoo tarmac mapped during the tenure of the late Kipkalya Kones in the Roads Ministry,"
He accused the national government of failing to devolve roads functions despite a constitutional provision and a court order.
