Uhuru in whirlwind tour of key projects at Coast

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday took on unnamed leaders who are going around the country preaching hate and division.

During his inspection tours of development projects in Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties, the president said Kenyans need development and not empty political rhetoric, adding one cannot seek to divide the same people he is seeking to lead.

He dismissed such people as self-seekers who cared very little about the well-being of Kenyans.

“When you see leaders throwing words at each other and abusing others, it is not because they care about wananchi, it is about their interests,” the president said.

Bring people together

He added: “It is good to desire leadership...but leadership must be about bringing people together. People should come together, love one another and walk the same journey because leadership belongs to the people.”

In Mombasa, the president inspected the ongoing construction of the first segment of the Mariakani highway, which runs from Mombasa to Kwa Jomvu.

He was accompanied by Governor Hassan Joho and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

The Sh8.5 billion project, which is 75 per cent complete, involves upgrading of the 11.3-kilometre two-way single carriageway to a three-lane dual road to ease access of cargo trucks to Mombasa port.

Speaking to Changamwe residents who turned out in large numbers to welcome him, Uhuru said the ongoing expansion of Mombasa port and the supporting infrastructure had grown its performance by approximately 15 million tonnes from 20 million in 2013.

The president said the jump in the port performance and the construction of ancillary infrastructure such as the SGR had helped create more jobs and business opportunities for Kenyans.

He warned politicians against politicising development projects and reminded those preoccupied with endless politics that wananchi would choose their leaders at the right time.

“When I took over the leadership of our nation, the port of Mombasa could only handle 20 million tonnes per year; that’s from the time of the British colonialists until when I took the reigns of our nation’s leadership. We have moved from 20 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes,” he said.

From Changamwe, the Head of State made a brief stopover at the Dongo Kundu by-pass to assess a section of the road that collapsed recently due to what engineers suspect is the presence of a water aquifer in the area.

Dual carriageway

At Dongo Kundu, Uhuru inspected the ongoing construction of the 2,790-metre Mwache-Tunza bridge and viaduct over the Indian Ocean, which is part of the nine-kilometre four lane dual carriageway from Mwache to Mteza in Dongo Kundu where the government is setting up a Special Economic Zone.

The president said the road would open up the southern parts of Mombasa, especially Dongo Kundu as well as Kwale County to become the new frontier of investment in the region.

From Mombasa, Uhuru flew to Kwale County where he inspected the now complete Mariakani-Kinango road and announced government plans to extend the road to Kwale town.

The president, who was received by Governor Salim Mvurya, also inaugurated the Vigurungani community borehole, which was gifted to area residents by the Kenya Defence Forces. He also visited the upcoming Kwale Teachers Training College, a project of the County Government of Kwale.

Speaking to locals at Vigurungani Primary School, the Head of State announced a Sh50 million national Government grant for the new 1,200 capacity teachers college in the current fiscal year, an amount he said would be raised to Sh100 million next year.