Mount Kenya leaders seem to be finally getting their wishes even as the President embarks on a tour of the vast Nyeri County. The President has already arrived in the region and is said to have met with the leaders from Central region in Nyeri.
Main reason for their meeting was to deliberate on their grievances on unfair distribution of resources and request that he should continue being the regional kingpin even after his term ends in 2022.
The Head of State met the leaders at the residence of Regional Commissioner Wilson Njega in Nyeri town then proceeded to open the Karatina Market. The market is said to be one of a kind in Africa since it is the biggest and was built at a cost of 250 million.
The President has also commissioned the construction of Terminal 1 at Nyaribo Airstrip in Nyeri County. The airstrip has opened a direct route for commercial flights between Nyeri and Nairobi, a boost for the transport sector
It gives me pleasure to commission the construction of Terminal 1 at Nyaribo Airstrip in Nyeri County today. The airstrip has opened a direct route for commercial flights between Nyeri and Nairobi, a boost for the transport sector #TwasongaMbele pic.twitter.com/5HNv8stF9I
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) November 1, 2018
Earlier, An MP who declined to be named said the Central region lawmakers led by Cecily Mbarire and nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura, who are the leaders of the caucus, will present their demands to Mr Kenyatta.
“We will meet the President at 11am. Ms Mbarire will present our petition and the resolutions from our meeting. We are grateful that he is ready to listen to us because our concerns are legitimate,” said the MP.
The region overwhelmingly voted for President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto but, according to the elected leaders, the Jubilee government has not reciprocated the support. Top on the list of demands is change in the formula used to allocate cash to counties and constituencies.
“Within the context of the Constitution, why aren’t we getting development funds commensurate with our investments,” argued Gatundu MP Moses Kuria Wednesday.
Over 70 Mount Kenya MPs met in Naivasha. Here, they agreed to halt the 2022 succession talks and focus on development issues. They made claims that the region was entitled to 60% of the country’s GDP claims that have been rubbished by political leaders from other regions and Kenyans at large.
“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,” said Cecily Mbarire.