A Mt Kenya group has censured the region’s politicians for the latest meetings, terming them a mockery of the poor electorate.
The Mount Kenya Group dismissed the meetings as self-centred and accused the politicians of pursuing a selfish agenda on the guise of ‘discussing the region’s development'.
On September 18, some 56 MPs from the region held a six-hour meeting at Thika Greens Hotel ostensibly to discuss development and chart the region’s political path ahead of 2022 polls.
But the group, led by Peter Mwaura, said politicians were only interested in realignments and how they will use poor voters to clinch positions in the post-2022 government.
Mwaura said it is regrettable that leaders recognise the residents of the vote-rich region only during elections after five years of poverty.
“We haven’t seen them [politicians] meeting to discuss the interests of residents. Mt Kenya region is still grappling with underdevelopment due to these leaders and despite having a huge economic potential, the region’s economy is on its death bed,” he said.
He accused leaders of putting their selfish agenda on the table before deliberating on pertinent issues affecting the region and how to address them.
"They are using Mt Kenya region for their individual benefits. We are watching them and we won’t allow them to use us as pawns again.”
Mwaura faulted the region's leadership for failing to champion the revival of coffee, tea, dairy and horticulture sectors - the backbone of the region’s economy.
“Coffee, tea and dairy farmers are crying due to poor pay. These are the sectors that residents depend on but our leaders have failed to fetch better markets or advocate for subsidised inputs," he complained.
Wanjiku Gitaka said all Mt Kenya people want are better prices for their tea, coffee and milk and the revival of businesses ruined by Covid-19.
“Our leaders have remained mum when tea farmers are still oppressed by draconian policies and regulations brought by KTDA.
"They have allowed individuals who know nothing about tea farming to create policies for the poor farmers. They are failing on what they were voted to go and do in Parliament,” Wanjiku said.
To her, the leaders had abandoned them at the hour of need only to re-emerge with 2022 politics.
“They have only resurfaced and started their egocentric meetings without caring how the pandemic has ravaged most of the sectors we depend on. They only care about our votes,” she said.
The residents want MPs to shelve their political ambitions and put the interest of Mt Kenya residents first.
“Let them discuss equal representation in Parliament so that our rightful resources can reach us,” Wanjiku said.
After their meeting Thika meeting, the MPs denied discussing succession politics, stressing they only focused on development.
Edited by EKibii
