By Paul Mwangi
A day after President William Ruto visited Nyeri Town Constituency for a church service without his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, local MP Maina Mathenge underscored why Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki is the ideal candidate to represent the Mt Kenya region.
Speaking to the media at Thunguma Shopping Center while inspecting the tarmacking of a road project, Mathenge emphasized that the region needs a leader who can effectively advocate for increased resource allocation for development.
“We all agree that unity is crucial. However, resources have a more lasting and impactful way of uniting people than simply rallying behind an individual. Our focus is on advancing the development agenda rather than the prevailing political discourse about regional unity,” Mathenge stated.
He added, “No single person can advance the development agenda of a region alone. That’s why we’re shifting our focus from unity based on personal leadership to a unity driven by resource availability and regional prosperity.”
The road, constructed by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURRA), connects the shopping center to the Nyeri-Nairobi highway at the Oilcom petrol station. The project, which began in 2020, is expected to be completed on schedule.
“We’ve allocated the necessary resources, and the contractor is on site. I’ll be meeting with KURRA Director General Eng. Silas Kinoti on Thursday to ensure that the allocated funds are used to complete the tarmacking of this road,” Mathenge, a first-term lawmaker, said.
Last week, 48 MPs from the Mt Kenya West region endorsed CS Kindiki as the new liaison between the region and the Presidency. The MPs, who spoke in Nyahururu town, criticized Deputy President Gachagua for using unity rhetoric to further personal ambitions rather than focusing on the region’s development needs.
“Our efforts to consolidate and advocate for the developmental needs of our constituents have been hampered by a lack of a clear focal point. Instead of a unified approach to advancing the region’s interests, we’ve faced high-octane politics that prioritize individual ambitions over the actual needs of Mt Kenya,” the MPs’ statement read in part.
They further noted, “Our attempts to prioritize developmental needs have been undermined by threats of political repercussions if we do not support certain personal interests.”
The legislators have tasked Kindiki with championing Mt Kenya’s interests in areas such as food and cash crops, including coffee, tea, potatoes, and macadamia, as well as improving prices for milk and poultry products, reducing animal feed costs, and advancing business and commercial interests, along with other key manifesto commitments.
