President Uhuru Kenyatta has rallied Kenyans to work together for the unity and development of the country.
At the same time, the President admonished leaders who are going around the country preaching hate and division saying Kenyans need development and not empty political rhetoric.
“It is good to desire leadership…but leadership must be about bringing people together. People should come together, love each other and walk the same journey because leadership belongs to the people,” the President said.
The President spoke Monday, on the second day of his tour of development projects in the Coast region. The tour took the Head of State, who was accompanied by Governor Ali Hassan Joho and Infrastructure CS James Macharia, to Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi Counties
In Mombasa, the President inspected the ongoing construction of the first segment of the Mariakani Highway which runs from Mombasa to Kwa Jomvu.
The Shs 8.5 billion project which is currently at 75 percent completion stage involves upgrading of the 11.3 kilometer two-way single carriageway to a three-lane dual road to ease up access of cargo trucks to Mombasa port.
Speaking to Changamwe residents who turned out in large numbers to welcome him, the President said the ongoing expansion of Mombasa port and the supporting infrastructure had grown its performance by approximately 15 million tonnes from 20 million in 2013 to a current annual output of 35 million tonnes.
The President said the jump in the port performance and the construction of ancillary infrastructure such as the SGR had helped create more jobs and business opportunities for Kenyans.
He warned politicians not to politicize development and reminded those preoccupied with endless politics that wananchi will choose their leaders at the right time.
“I am telling the people saying the President has moved the port to Naivasha. When I took over the leadership of our nation Kenya, this port of Mombasa could only handle 20 million tonnes per year, that’s from the time of the British colonialists until when I took the reigns of our nation’s leadership.
“From the time I took over, we have moved from 20 million million tonnes to 35 million tonnes. An additional 15 million tonnes,” the President said.
From Changamwe, the Head of State made a brief stopover on the Dongo Kundu by-pass to assess a section of the road back-slope that collapsed recently due to what engineers suspect is the presence of a water aquifer in the area.
The President instructed national and county government entities to quickly find a solution to the challenge including tapping the underground water for human use, if they confirm existence of the aquifer.
At Dongo Kundu, the Head of State inspected the ongoing construction of the 2790-meter Mwache-Tunza bridge and viaduct over the Indian Ocean which is part of the 9 kilometer four lane dual carriageway from Mwache to Mteza in Dongo Kundu where the Government is setting up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The President said the road will open up the southern parts of Mombasa especially Dongo Kundu as well as Kwale County to become the new frontier of investment in the region.
From Mombasa, the Head of State flew to Kwale County where he inspected the now complete Mariakani to Kinango road and announced Government plans to extend the road to Kwale town.
The President, who was received in the count by Governor Salim Mvurya also inaugurated the Vigurungani community borehole which was gifted to area residents by the Kenya Defence Forces and visited the upcoming Kwale Teachers Training College, a project of the County Government of Kwale.
Speaking to locals at Vigurungani Primary School, the Head of State announced a Kshs 50 million national Government grant for the new 1,200 capacity teachers college in the current fiscal year, an amount he said will be raised to Shs 100 million next year.
Governor Mvurya said President Kenyatta’s impressive development profile in the Coast region especially Kwale County speaks for itself.
The Kwale Governor thanked the Head of State for the new road and several other complete and ongoing national Government development projects in his county.
The President concluded his busy day at Jilore in Kilifi County where he inspected the new 117 kilometer Malindi to Sala Gate road which was constructed at a cost of Shs 4.1 billion.
At Jilore Secondary School where he spoke to area residents, the President said the Government will increase electricity connectivity in the area while Governor Amason Kingi promised to utilise funding from the World Bank to supply are residents with clean water.
Speaking on national matters, the Head of State dismissed a section of political leaders saying they were self seekers who cared very little about the wellbeing of wananchi.
“When you see leaders throwing words at each other, and abusing others, it is not because they care about wananchi, it is about their interests,” the President cautioned.
Governor Kingi thanked the President for the various national government projects especially roads which he said are helping open up his county for investment.
The Governor termed President Kenyatta as an “accessible leader who is always available and ready to listen to other leaders” and dismissed “busy-body politicians” who he said are going around the country sowing division at the expense of national unity and progress.
He said frequent meetings held between the President and coast leaders had helped speed up development in the region and singled out the ongoing land titling programme as a successful intervention whose benefits Coastal people have started enjoying.
Governor Ali Hassan Joho who accompanied the Head of State on the entire tour and spoke at all stop overs said President Kenyatta has etched his name in the books of history as the leader who rolled out the highest number of development projects in the Coast region.
The Mombasa Governor cautioned politicians against misleading Coast residents on development matters saying it is clear to everyone that President Kenyatta was delivering his development blueprint for the region.
The President was accompanied on the day-long tour by Coast Regional Coordinator John Elungata and received in the Counties by respective Governors and local leaders including area MPs and MCAs.
