President William Ruto on Tuesday met leaders from Meru County at State House, Nairobi, as he intensified efforts to consolidate political support and push ahead with development projects in the region.
The meeting brought together Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, 11 Members of Parliament and 67 out of the county’s 69 Members of the County Assembly, underscoring Meru’s growing political importance within the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
President Ruto said discussions centred on strengthening the party’s grassroots structures through participatory and democratic elections, beginning at the polling centre level. He said the approach was aimed at building a stronger and more inclusive political party anchored on the will of ordinary members.
“Our discussions focused on strengthening our political party, the United Democratic Alliance, at the grassroots through participatory and democratic elections beginning at the polling centre,” the President said.
Beyond party politics, the leaders also reviewed the government’s transformation agenda in Meru County, with an emphasis on accelerating priority programmes and projects meant to drive economic growth and improve livelihoods.
President Ruto highlighted several major projects already underway, including the upgrading of Meru County Hospital into a national referral facility at a cost of Sh1 billion. He said the project would significantly improve access to specialised healthcare services in the wider Upper Eastern region.
Other ongoing initiatives include electricity connections for 30,000 households, the construction of 17 modern markets, affordable housing projects and the upgrading of key road networks within the county.
“We also deliberated on ways of speeding up priority programmes and projects that will drive growth and improve livelihoods for the people of Meru,” he said.
The President announced that construction of the Nithi Bridge and the 17-kilometre Meru Town Bypass would begin shortly. The two infrastructure projects, valued at Sh3 billion, are expected to ease traffic congestion, improve connectivity and support trade within the county and neighbouring regions.
Governor Mutuma welcomed the national government’s support, saying the projects would have a lasting impact on service delivery and economic activity in Meru.
The meeting comes amid renewed political mobilisation by UDA as the ruling party seeks to entrench its presence at the grassroots while aligning development priorities with its political agenda ahead of the next electoral cycle.
