Central Kenya leaders are planning meetings to galvanise support for the Government ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to the region expected next month.
Sources said three senior Government officials will host meets in Meru and Nyeri, with a number of MPs saying they had received SMS invites.
The venues, however, are yet to be communicated. “We have been told the venue will be disclosed on Saturday morning,” said one MP.
Yesterday, one of the officials said to be behind the meetings refused to acknowledge his involvement. “Who is asking about the meeting? Is it wrong to meet? Let me find out more about the meeting then I’ll let you know.”
Some leaders invited to the meetings said they were billed as gatherings to discuss issues affecting residents.
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An MP who preferred not to be named said he was surprised that despite the invite, the venue had not been disclosed. “What has also taken me aback is why the agenda has not been clearly stated.”
Confusion has hit the region that voted overwhelmingly for the President since his “handshake” with Opposition leader Raila Odinga last year.
The President, who has kept his visits to the region minimal, has publicly reprimanded MPs who he has accused of engaging in “endless politicking instead of development”.
During a function in Ruiru yesterday, Uhuru alluded to his intended visit to the region. He identified a number of projects he is set to launch and reiterated his opposition to early campaigns for the 2022 General Election.
“I have said, and I will not tire in reminding politicians, that it is not time for politics. It is time for fulfilling our pledges to the people. Elections will come and go, but the country will be there forever. Leadership comes from God.”
The President said he would visit the region to open a macadamia factory in Kiambu, launch the much-anticipated dualing of the Kenol-Makutano-Sagana-Marua road, which traverses five counties, launch a commuter train service between Nairobi and Ruiru, and launch a TV assembly plant in Nyeri.
Sources in the Mt Kenya Parliamentary Group talked of widely circulated development blueprints with projects totalling more than Sh300 billion that Uhuru allegedly gave the go-ahead to be distributed to MPs.
“State functionaries were very hesitant about releasing these blueprints to us, but the President insisted that his backyard should know that some work is being done for them,” said an MP on condition of anonymity.
There are plans for Sh37 billion urban and Sh62 billion rural road networks in Mt Kenya region, with all the main municipalities – Kiambu, Thika, Murang’a, Nyeri, Embu, Nanyuki, Meru, Maua, Nyahururu and Rumuruti – earmarked for major road improvements.
The blueprints also talk of projects such as the Nairobi-Isiolo dual carriageway, dualing of Kiambu Road, the greater Eastern and Northern bypasses in Nairobi, a 17-kilometre dual carriageway in Meru town, and dualing of the Thika-Mangu highway.
