Kirinyaga Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici has told off critics who have been mocking her on the basis of the symbol and slogan she is using in her campaigns.
Ngirici, who is seeking to unseat Governor Anne Waiguru in August, has settled on a symbol of her smiling lips with a slogan above it captioned in bold letters 'Smairo ni Tiki' which loosely translates to 'Smile is tick.'
Ngirici said the symbol is more than meets the eye and carries a deeper meaning.
She said the smiling lips symbolise the goal her administration intends to achieve for the people of Kirinyaga, which is restoring smiles on their faces after having gone through turbulent seasons.
"There is nothing strange in the symbol. It's a symbol just like any other that the law requires political parties and independent candidates to have."
"Mine is a unique symbol which is synonymous with my agenda to my county residents. I desire to see the people of Kirinyaga happy and content."
She said it is unfortunate to attempt to mislead the public by maliciously trying to water down her candidature.
The Woman Rep said those spreading propaganda claiming her symbol is pegged to physical beauty are lost and ignorant.
She was speaking on Saturday during a rally in Kerugoya.
Ngirici said if elected, she will transform the devolved services for residents to benefit.
She said her priority will be to establish key infrastructure that will play a great role in value addition to produce and subsequently put more money into residents' pockets.
The Woman Rep said she will dutifully turn around the county's health, education and agriculture sectors.
"My administration intends to streamline the health services in our facilities by ensuring there is availability of medication and a medical team to deliver satisfactory services to our people. Through this, my people will smile again," Ngirici said.
She further pledged to improve the welfare of the ECDE sector by establishing proper classrooms and improving the remuneration of nursery school teachers by placing them under a permanent and pensionable working scheme.
The Woman Rep also promised to initiate a feeding programme in all public ECDE centres to keep children in school and ensure a smooth learning process.
Ngirici pledged to oversee the establishment of cottage and fertiliser industries.
Her running mate Eliud Wanjao pledged to work hand in hand with Ngirici to improve services.
He said theirs will be a more visible and accessible administration with less of a bureaucratic format leadership style.
Wanjao said they are ready to serve and interact with residents.
He said their manifesto will be clear, realistic and implementable.
If elected, he said, the county government will initiate projects that are in sync with economic activities undertaken in each subcounty for the well-being of residents.
Wanjao said their administration will tap into innovative ideas from residents to attract investors.
"We want all residents to undertake their activities while smiling because we will have played our part in streamlining the relevant departments for service delivery," he said.
Edited by A.N
