After days of ranting and complaining, Mount Kenya leaders are today set to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta in Karatina as the head of state heads for a development tour of the vast Nyeri region.
In Nyeri, the President is expected to officially open the Karatina Market which is said to be the biggest in the East African region. The market was built at a cost of 250 million.
Rais Uhuru Kenyatta anatarajiwa kufungua rasmi soko la Karatina ambalo ni kubwa zaidi eneo la Afrika Mashariki #SemaNaCitizen pic.twitter.com/Rbbti03CHp
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) November 1, 2018
Mount Kenya leaders have got issues they have deemed as pressing and want address by the Presidency.
Top on their agenda is the issue of the development of the region with the MPs calling for the government to allocate at least 60% of the country’s collected revenue to the region since it contributes to 60% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Having now dropped the 2022 succession talks to focus on development, the MPs have unanimously agreed to push for the region’s development agenda.
Many Kenyans however have been shocked by the MPs recent demands since the region they come from unanimously voted for Uhuru Kenyatta. Their main reason for voting was apparently because the President had a good development record in the region. How then is it possible that the Mount Kenya is still underdeveloped?
Mount Kenya MPs have accused the Jubilee government of neglecting the region despite voting for President Uhuru overwhelmingly in the last general elections.
Speaking to the media after deliberations at Enashipai resort, Cecily Mbarire said that the Mount Kenya region was completely behind the president and that they were in full support of the Big 4 Agenda.
She said they had identified development priorities for the region in particular with regards to water, roads, electricity and agriculture.
“We have developed a detailed development matrix that we shall forward to the President for implementation and Mt Kenya region must claim its rightful share of development in the country, within the remaining four years of this current administration,” she said.
Yesterday, Leaders from North Eastern led by Abdikadir Mohammed termed it as an “irony” for central Kenya leaders to claim that the region is underdeveloped.
“Such an irony that our compatriots from Mt.Kenya feel marginalised! Reminds one of the old pastoralist tale of the herder owning 99 camels asking his neighbour having only one to donate so he could have a handsome count of 100,” said Abdikadir.
Abdikadir’s sentiments were echoed by lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi ,former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Ekuru Ekuot.
“For some Kenyans, being marginalised is a reality they confront on a daily basis right from 1963…for others, being marginalised is just a state of mind,” said Lawyer Ahmednasir.