- Ruto has already instructed the Water CS Alice Wahome to start implementing the project which will be done with the partnership of the private sector.
- He said the previous government had planned to construct 57 dams but only succeeded to establish five due to politics.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
@Alicewangechi
The Kenya Kwanza government will build 100 mega dams to mitigate the raging drought occasioned by a shortage of rain.
President William Ruto said the dams will be used to conserve water for use in homes and farms during dry seasons.
Ruto underscored the need for Kenyans to conserve the environment to mitigate climate change that he said has the potential to worsen food insecurity.
The President has already instructed the Water CS Alice Wahome to start implementing the project which will be done with the partnership of the private sector.
Ruto said the previous government had planned to construct 57 dams but only succeeded to establish five due to politics.
“We will be moving a bit fast now and we have a public-private instrument that will support our dam-building efforts and water harvesting programme,” he said.
In Murang’a, the national government will start with the Maragua 4 dam that will harness water for supply in Nairobi and its environs.
The President said the NG-CDF Act will be reviewed to enable it to accommodate tree-planting activities to conserve the environment.
He said more funds will be injected into the kitty to enable it to support women and youth groups that will establish tree nurseries at the grassroots.
His administration plans to plant 5 billion trees in the next five years.
Youths who were engaged in the Kazi Mtaani programme will be engaged in planting trees.
“We currently have a bad drought and it will only get worse due to climate change. Unless we change the environment, climate change is a reality that we must live with,” he said.
The President spoke on Sunday at Karigu-ini grounds near Kenol town, Maragua, during an inert-denominational church service.
Ruto who was accompanied by his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and other MPs highlighted the need for Kenyans to ensure they pay taxes saying no development can be achieved without resources.
Paying taxes, he said, will enable his government to repay national debts as it reduces borrowing. The government plans to raise taxes.
He said former President Mwai Kibaki set precedence after raising revenue collected from taxes from Sh250 billion annually to Sh1 trillion in his 10 years tenure.
“Pay your taxes and we assure you that we will be responsible, work hard and smart and move our economy forward,” he said.
He said the Hustlers’ Fund will start operations in December.
It will have three components including low-interest loans, and savings for small-scale traders and the government will give savers a shilling for every Sh2 they save.
“We want to build a nation that plans for today, tomorrow and the future. We have engaged Cotu, Federation of Kenya Employers and other parties that had filed cases against NSSF and they have agreed to withdraw the court cases because saving is crucial,” he said.
Ruto said he had visited the county to thank residents for overwhelmingly supporting him and having faith in their leadership.
Mt Kenya region, he said, put the nation on a new level and set a record after voting to ‘break the yokes of tribalism’.
He said the region broke the record and set a new one that politics will no longer be based on ethnicity and hatred but built on the foundation of unity and focused on development.
“All Kenyans who voted for whichever side set a record of doing politics peacefully, voting and waiting for the results peacefully. I assure you as the president that the new record will be built upon moving forward,” Ruto said.
“We will ensure those in the low economic cadre are prioritised and uplifted, and we have started doing that officially.”
He said his government will ensure Kenyans benefit from development projects regardless of their regions or political affiliation.
“God has been gracious enough to move us into a new political level and now we have a government built on the foundation of peace. We will strive to work for the people of Kenya without the measure of who voted for who,” he said.
Local leaders led by Murang’a woman representative Betty Maina, Mary Waithira (Maragua), Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu) and Joe Nyutu (Senator) lauded the president for awarding the county with two Cabinet positions.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris