UDA strength is unmatched, our opponents should step up - DP Kindiki
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UDA strength is unmatched, our opponents should step up - DP Kindiki
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Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki has said the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party has grown in strength since forming government in 2022, affirming its commitment to staying true to its ideals.
Prof.
Kindiki said UDA continues to consolidate its support and welcome more members
keen to throw their weight behind the agenda to uplift the people's lives from
the bottom going up.
“UDA
is the only party in Kenya with a strong presence at the polling station level,
with officials at polling centres who have been elected democratically. It is
only the UDA party, no other party has that kind of presence nationally,” the DP
stated.
Speaking
on Friday when he hosted thousands of Tharaka Nithi County UDA grassroots
officials at his home in Irunduni, the DP, who is also the UDA Deputy Party
Leader, said the ruling outfit’s Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda has
been extensively implemented nationally over the last four years as was
promised by the Party Leader, President William Ruto.
“We
had an agenda. We had a vision. We have fulfilled many promises, others are
ongoing, others are completed, and others are on the way,” he indicated.
The
Deputy President added that the clarity of the agenda made it easier for the
majority of Kenyans to join the party before the last elections and many more
to decamp to the outfit ahead of the next polls in 2027.
“We
were not elected by making noise or creating unnecessary excitement among
citizens with useless things. We were elected because we agreed that there is a
way we want to make the Republic of Kenya a better, developed nation and take
it forward from where we found it,” he emphasized.
In
advancement of the socio-economic agenda that drove UDA to power in 2022, Prof.
Kindiki pointed out employment of over 100, 000 teachers, improving learning
facilities and opening up TVETs for access to more students derived from learning
opportunities previously as well as bettering university education.
He
said the promise to employ 116,000 teachers by the end of the first term as
pledged in the UDA manifesto will be surpassed this month.
“Our
manifesto stated that we would employ 116,000 teachers in the first five years.
Already, this government has employed 100,000 teachers, and this month we are
adding another 20,000 new teachers, bringing the total to 120,000 teachers. By
next month, we will have surpassed our target,” he stated.
In
health, the DP highlighted the massive achievements in the rollout of the
Universal Health Coverage that has seen 32 million Kenyans registered for
treatment under the Taifa Care programme.
The
government has also employed 7,000 doctors doubling the number of the medics
before 2022 on top of better remuneration for health practitioners.
“NHIF
had only 8 million registered Kenyans, but the one we have under SHA has risen
to 32.3 million Kenyans, and we will not stop until every Kenyan citizen is
registered and with access to health insurance policy,” he noted.
Other
achievements are in the Agriculture sector where farm inputs have been heavily
subsidized enabling farmers to expand production enhancing the country’s food
security.
“The
manifesto stated that we should reduce the price of fertiliser, and during the
first year we reduced the price to KSh 2,500 so that our farmers could get
access to fertiliser easily and increase food production for our country to
have enough food,” DP said.
Thousands
of kilometres of roads, most of them stalled in the previous regimes, are being
constructed, the DP noted, courtesy of an innovative funding programme
implemented by the government the last four years.
He
said the coming in place of the National Infrastructure Fund will boost
construction of more roads as well as other key infrastructure initiatives
targeted to speed up the country’s development.
From
this extensive development agenda and fulfilling many promises, the DP
challenged the opposition to step up and provide better alternatives instead of
being fixated on slogans and gibberish that are unhelpful to the country’s
advancement.
“They
must provide a better agenda because coming up with nicknames and issuing terms
of service would not help them in any way. We are focused because we have the
agenda to improve the lives of the people,” he said.
The
DP urged the UDA polling clerks to be good ambassadors of the government’s
inclusive agenda
“I want to send you, as our army at the grassroots level, to go and sell the government’s agenda to the citizens… You are very important. You are the spokespersons of the party at the polling centres where you have been elected,” he urged.
Reporting originally appeared via Citizen Digital. Read the full source for additional context.