Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has thrown his weight behind more than 20,000 United Democratic Alliance (UDA) polling station officials in Meru County, describing them as the backbone of the party's grassroots mobilization efforts.
Speaking at a rally held at Kinoru Stadium on Friday, Kindiki praised the officials for dedicating their time and personal resources to champion the ruling party at the grassroots level, a move he said was crucial as the country looks forward to the 2027 general elections.
Kindiki called the polling station officials the "bosses" of UDA at the grassroots, emphasizing their critical role in explaining the government's development record to voters across the county.
He told the crowd that these officials had made real sacrifices, using their own money and effort to mobilize support for the party and the President, without waiting for any special recognition or reward. Their commitment, he said, demonstrated the kind of leadership the country needed to move forward.
"You are very important. You are the spokespeople of the party at the polling centres where you have been elected. Those 20 officials are leaders of the party, and you are in charge of promoting the party, speaking on behalf of the party, and speaking on behalf of the President at that polling centre. You are the party," Kindiki said in a direct message to the gathered officials.
The Deputy President went on to highlight some of the achievements his administration has recorded since coming to office, particularly in Meru County. He said that the government had allocated a massive Sh1 billion to upgrade Meru Level Five Hospital to a Level Six facility, a move aimed at improving healthcare delivery in the region.
Additionally, Kindiki disclosed that Sh44 billion had been earmarked for the construction of more than 500 kilometres of tarmac roads across the county, addressing the long-standing infrastructure deficit that had plagued rural areas.
On agricultural support, Kindiki noted that the government would inject a further Sh200 million into Meru Dairy to expand milk production and processing capacity. He also took a moment to speak about the fertilizer subsidy programme, which has been a lifeline for small-scale farmers struggling with the rising cost of inputs.
The government had managed to reduce the price of subsidized fertilizer from Sh7,500 in 2022 to Sh2,500, with a further reduction of Sh500 announced that week. He added that the administration was also targeting a Sh100 price for a two-kilogramme packet of maize flour, part of efforts to ease the cost of living burden on ordinary Kenyans.
Education has not been left behind in the development agenda. Kindiki revealed that the administration had constructed 23,000 new classrooms across the country and built 1,600 laboratories, with plans well underway to recruit 120,000 additional teachers.
The government has also seen a remarkable surge in technical training enrollment, which jumped from 297,000 in 2022 to 718,000 as of the time of his speech. These moves, he argued, showed the government's commitment to transforming the education sector and equipping young people with marketable skills.
On healthcare, Kindiki pointed out that the government's universal health coverage programme, branded as Taifa Care, had registered 32.3 million Kenyans, a significant jump from the eight million who were covered under the previous NHIF system. This expansion, he said, demonstrated the administration's determination to make healthcare accessible and affordable to all Kenyans, regardless of their economic status.
Kindiki challenged the opposition parties to show similar grassroots structures and democratic practices. He noted that while many opposition parties claimed to have grassroots leaders, there had been no democratic elections conducted at that level by those parties.
This, he suggested, gave UDA a competitive advantage heading into 2027, as the party had a properly elected leadership structure at all levels of the organization.
He promised that when President William Ruto and his team returned to Meru during the 2027 campaign, they would present a comprehensive list of achievements to voters, giving the people a clear picture of what the government had accomplished and what it intended to do in the next term.
The Deputy President's message to the Meru grassroots officials was clear: the government values their work, recognizes their sacrifices, and sees them as critical partners in the journey toward national development and electoral success in 2027.
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