Mt Kenya leaders to present demand list to Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta will Thursday meet Mt Kenya lawmakers 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 will meet the leaders at the residence of Regional Commissioner Wilson Njega in Nyeri town before he proceeds to open the Karatina Market in the afternoon.

The meeting was confirmed Wednesday and details communicated to the leaders.

RESOLUTIONS

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.

COMMENSURATE

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.

POLITICAL CAREERS

The MPs, during a retreat in Naivasha on Monday, claimed that other regions were being favoured while Mt Kenya region had been neglected.

Part of the lawmakers’ demands include that President rescinds his decision to freeze new projects. In July this year, the President gave an order stopping new projects until stalled and ongoing ones are completed. The directive has hurt the political careers of first-time MPs who made promises to push for new projects once elected.

DIRECTIVE

"Now, we have been elected and the President’s directive has made it difficult to lobby for those projects,” said an MP.

The MPs also want to hold frequent meetings with the President amid an uproar that he has become inaccessible compared to his deputy.

"All other regions have had an opportunity to meet him. We are only saying that we also have a stake in this country,” he said.

Mr Kuria, in an interview on NTV, said they will raise with the President the issue of slow pace of implementation of projects by Cabinet Secretaries.

HOUSEKEEPING

Kangema MP Muturi Kigano said the meeting will not be political but will focus on lobbying for increased allocations to Mt Kenya region. “We need development. It will not be political but we just do some housekeeping,” he said.

In demanding the lion’s share of national resources, the 67 MPs said they contribute more to the economy than what they were getting.

“Mt Kenya must claim its rightful share within the remaining four years of the current administration,” said Ms Mbarire.