UDA strength is unmatched, our opponents should step up - DP Kindiki

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.