NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 14 – President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday reiterated his commitment to an extended visit of the Nyanza region.
Through his spokesman Manoah Esipisu, he explained that he was forced to postpone the trip scheduled for this week as he was, “unable to reschedule pressing prior commitments in time.”
“There are two particularly vital engagements which are incompatible with an extended visit to Nyanza this week,” he explained.
The two vital engagements being a business summit in Kigali and the commissioning of the Olkaria IV geothermal power plant.
The business summit scheduled to take place between Wednesday and Friday, he explained, was critical as President Kenyatta is expected to give the keynote address.
“The summit is East Africa’s most prestigious gathering of leading figures from government and business,” Esipisu stated adding that, “given his leadership of East Africa’s largest economy, His Excellency is a central player in the summit’s deliberations.”
President Kenyatta’s commissioning of the Olkaria IV geothermal power plant on Friday, Esipisu continued to explain, could also not be put off given his government’s commitment to growing Kenya’s renewable energy supplies.
“The new power plants at Olkaria are central to the Jubilee Government’s strategy for lowering the cost of power and infrastructure. That strategy commits Government to bringing up to 5,000MW of power online. In doing so, we expect to significantly lower the cost of power.
Once again, attendance at this function precludes an extended visit to Nyanza,” Esipisu explained.
But he did say the President’s commitment to visiting the region was, “steadfast,” and that the visit would be rescheduled following consultations with the region’s leaders to a “mutually acceptable,” time.
“The President’s commitment to visiting Nyanza to discuss the region’s development remains steadfast.”
There have been calls by some of the region’s residents for a development driven visit by the Head of State that would address challenges the sugar industry, in particular, is facing.
The last time the Head of State was in the region however, Migori youths disrupted the function he was officiating.
An act he forgave, promising to return: “nitarudi, na nitarudi, na nitarudi (I will be back),” he declared immediately after.
Source-capitalfm.co.ke
