Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has taken the Government’s development message to Thika, Kiambu County, where he launched the tarmacking of the Kwaheri-Mary Magdalena Road and called for faster implementation of development projects.
Kindiki said the road was part of the national government’s wider infrastructure programme in Kiambu, noting that improved road networks were essential in supporting businesses, farmers and residents while easing movement of people and goods.
The Deputy President challenged the contractor undertaking the project to work within the agreed timelines and ensure the road is completed without unnecessary delays.
“I will follow the contractor to ensure that this road will be completed on time,” he said.
Kindiki also urged the contractor to involve local residents in the project, particularly through employment opportunities and other economic activities expected to emerge during construction.
He said the Government was expanding road infrastructure in Kiambu as part of efforts to improve connectivity and address congestion affecting the county’s rapidly growing urban centres.
The Deputy President further disclosed that designs were underway for a proposed express highway linking Thika and Kiambu, saying the project would help ease traffic along the busy corridor if implemented.
The announcement adds to the Government’s focus on road infrastructure in the Mt Kenya region, where Kindiki has recently highlighted ongoing and planned projects, including roads, markets and other economic facilities.
“President Ruto is doing a good development, and we will continue to develop other regions as well as other sectors, including agriculture,” Kindiki said.
However, the Deputy President’s message in Thika went beyond development projects as he called for peaceful politics and unity across the country.
Kindiki said he would not be distracted by what he described as petty political disagreements, maintaining that his focus would remain on development, peace and unity.
He said elders from the Mt Kenya region had tasked him with promoting peace and unity, adding that he would continue taking the message to different parts of the region.
“We need to preach peace and unity. Elders have instructed me to promote peace and I will move to all sectors,” he said.
Kindiki also renewed the Government’s warning against the manufacture and sale of harmful alcoholic drinks, saying security agencies would continue working together to dismantle networks involved in the trade.
“We will not allow anyone to sell poisonous chemicals in the name of alcohol. We will fight all of them,” he said.
The Deputy President, however, distinguished between illicit and harmful alcoholic products and legally manufactured drinks, saying the Government’s crackdown was specifically targeting products that pose a danger to consumers.
His remarks come amid heightened efforts to combat illicit alcohol in Kiambu County. Police recently intercepted a tanker carrying 10,000 litres of suspected industrial ethanol, leading to the arrest of three people, while samples were taken for analysis by the Government Chemist.
Kindiki said the Government would continue pursuing individuals involved in the illegal trade while supporting businesses that operate within the law.
