President William Ruto attended interdenominational prayers at the 181 Stadium in Sotik Constituency, Bomet County, today.
The President was accompanied by, among other leaders, Bomet County Governor Prof. Hillary Barchok, Kericho Governor Dr. Eric Mutai, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Cabinet Secretaries Davis Chirchir(Energy), Florence Bore (Labour) and Ezekiel Machogu (Education)
Speaking during the service, the head of state lauded Bomet residents for voting overwhelmingly for Kenya Kwanza’s administration in last year’s polls. He asked all the leaders to fulfill their mandates to the electorates, assuring them of his support.
In a bid to create more employment opportunities, President Ruto pointed out that his administration has signed a bilateral labor agreement with foreign countries that will see over 3,000 Kenyans employed abroad on a weekly basis.
Ruto affirmed that he has already spoken to a number of heads of state and government who have agreed to provide online jobs to unemployed Kenyans. In that case, he ordered all members of Parliament to build an ICT hub in every ward in their constituencies where youth will do the jobs, promising that he will provide computers and tutors to facilitate the same.
The head of state further stated that his administration has kicked off the construction of 1,000 affordable houses in Bomet town, and Ksh. 2 billion has been set aside for building an additional 1,000 houses in Sotik constituency. In total, Bomet County will have 5,000 houses in Phase 1 of the affordable housing program, a move that will create 10,000 jobs for the residents of Bomet.
President Ruto asserted that Ksh. 500 million has been set aside for building a county aggregation park in Sotik, with a common user facility for agro-processing, value addition, and manufacturing. Apart from the industrial park, President Ruto stipulated that Ksh. 50 billion has also been set aside for the construction of five modern markets across Bomet County.
“We agreed that we must build markets, apart from building county aggregation here in Sotik. We have also set aside Ksh. 50 billion for building markets for mama Mboga here in Bomet so that we can make sure that Mama Mboga is doing business in a good environment where there is water and electricity,” said the president.
President Ruto added that plans are underway for the construction of a standard gauge railway that will pass through Bomet to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, connecting more residents of Bomet with electricity.
President Ruto praised farmers across the county for the good work that they are doing in producing food for this country, alluding that since the price of fertilizers decreased, the production of food has increased. Last year, 48 million bags of maize were produced, and this year, 61 million bags were produced, which is 18 million more. Ruto also stipulated that plans are underway to distribute milk coolers to every ward.
In the health sector, President Ruto emphasized the government’s commitment to providing affordable health cover and the construction of a referral hospital in Kericho County. Additionally, he pledged financial support for the construction of the 181 Stadium, which will be named after the late Bomet Governor, Dr. Joyce Laboso.
On his side, Bomet County Governor Prof. Hillary Barchok thanked the president for the projects funded by the national government in Bomet, including the Longisa Nyongores Mulot water project and ongoing housing projects. Governor Barchok confirmed that his administration has already purchased 50 acres of land for the construction of an ICT hub in Mulot and another 15 acres for the construction of the Bomet stadium. He also requested the president’s assistance in the construction of a sewage plant in Sotik town and extended an invitation for the commissioning of the Bomet County Assembly chamber and the Dr. Joyce Laboso Mother and Child Wellness Centre once completed.