Deputy President William Ruto’s alleged chopper on Monday left tongues wagging after it was able to access the flood-stricken county of West Pokot, few hours after Cabinet Secretary for Interior Fred Matiang’i and his Devolution counterpart Eugene Wamalawa failed to reach the same county due to bad weather.
CS Matiang’i cited inclement weather as the reason why their helicopter re-routed to Eldoret.
Many Kenyans on social media questioned why the government’s chopper failed to access the region yet DP Ruto with his alleged private-owned helicopter managed to beat the bad weather.
Putting the debate aside, an analysis done by this writer on Ruto’s alleged chopper reveals more than what meets the eye.
Known as H145 Airbus, Ruto’s chopper is not the conventional helicopter that you have seen rocking the sky.
According to bjtonline.com website, its size stands at four feet height, six feet width and 7 feet length.
The H145 Airbus has a maximum cruise speed of 248.168 kilometres per hour.
The website also indicates that the plane carries 8 passengers.
The production of the chopper started in 2014 and is still ongoing.
Important to note, to afford the chopper one has to part with Ksh 992,487,950.
If this amount was allocated to Teacher Service Commission to hire teachers on an internship basis, at least 5500 secondary schools interns, each earning Ksh15,000 a month, will be employed for a whole year.
Suppose one wanted to build a tarmacked road, whose price oscillates around Ksh50 million to Ksh80 million, an estimated length of 15-kilometre road will be completed with ease.
To build a school like Mbagathi Girls High school from scratch, which cost around Ksh48 million, be sure at least 20 schools will be done easily with a change to keep.