By Fred Makana
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has urged Mt Kenya residents to remain calm and wait for President Uhuru Kenyatta to show them the political formation they will embrace in the August 9 general election.
Munya said President Kenyatta had done a lot for the region and as part of his legacy he is going to leave the region and the country in a safe pair of hands.
“Be careful about some political leaders who are dividing us while their backyards are united. Some have now started dividing us as Mt Kenya East and West when we have spoken with one voice over the years. Let us be patient and wait for President Kenyatta to show us direction as a region instead of following some political rhetoric blindly,” Munya said.
Speaking in Ndumberi, Kiambu county when he launched the farm inputs from the government under the E-subsidy programme, Munya asked Kiambu residents to be cautious about politicians who are peddling falsehoods about President Kenyatta’s government yet they want to inherit the mantle from him.
He took a swipe at some unnamed leaders who are seeking the presidency yet their history is known for orchestrating the economic mess that both retired President Mwai Kibaki and Kenyatta have tried to rectify.
He told off leaders disrespecting the President. “ It is high time such leaders give the President the respect he deserves as the head of state and stop mudslinging during campaign rallies. Uhuru’s administration has built roads across the country and revived the railway lines,” Munya said.
“Some of the political leaders who have been claiming that they will address the economy and infrastructure development in this region are part and parcel of the mess the country went through in the 1990’s,” Munya said.
Munya recalled that the coffee sector was vibrant before the economy was messed up in the 1990s. “Many professionals from this region owe their education achievements to coffee farming. However, most farmers were dealt a blow in the early 90s when some individuals ruined the agricultural sector that affected coffee farmers who incurred heavy losses and lost faith in the cash crop,” Munya said.
Though he did not name anyone Munya appeared to direct his anger on Deputy President William Ruto who he said has been demonizing the Jubilee government yet he has been enjoying government trappings. He said the architects of the YK92 lobby group were part of the KANU regime that messed up the economy whose effects are felt up to today.
“Those who were behind the YK92 that ruined our economy are now back with promises that cannot be met. I call upon Mt Kenya residents to tread carefully and not take this country back to where it was after President Kenyatta leaves office,” the CS said.
The CS said it is hypocritical for some politicians to incite Mt Kenya residents against President Uhuru and other leaders from the region yet his achievements are well-known
“It is a pity that those who have been saying that they don’t want to be told about the history of the country and the ones claiming they have the best interest of Mt Kenya yet they have been opposing any legislation that seeks to benefit the region.
He castigated Mt Kenya leaders who are championing for DP Ruto’s presidential bid yet his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) outfit strongly opposed the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) which was aimed at benefiting the Mt Kenya region.
“They come around telling you that they will fight for your rights yet they are the very people who have been opposing every piece of legislation at the National Assembly that seeks to benefit Mt Kenya region. Those are insincere political leaders who are fighting for their selfish interests and not for the entire region,” he told Kiambu residents.
The former Meru governor cited the ‘one man- one vote-one shilling’ revenue allocation formula which he said was meant to benefit the populous Kiambu county which he said was opposed by UDA leaning MPS.
Munya said the current formula was not only discriminating but oppressive to the counties that are highly productive and densely populated.
“For instance, Ruiru ward which has over 200,000 residents is a nightmare for area ward rep who cannot satisfy all his residents while some wards with less than 5,000 people are allocated the same revenue,” he said.
