President William Ruto has dared leaders and other civil servants within his administration who are opposed to government policies, particularly on procurement reforms and anti-graft measures, to quit their positions if they cannot align with his agenda.
Speaking on Sunday at the KMTC grounds in Siaya County during a service at St Peter's ACK Cathedral, the Head of State said it would not be business as usual with officials resisting reforms such as the migration to the digital Electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system.
“On e-procurement, there are a lot of people who are used to mischievous conduct when it comes to procurement. We have said that we will have e-procurement so that we can know how much something was bought for and is being sold at,” Ruto stated.
He claimed that some officials were sponsoring media reports to discredit the system by linking it to inflated spending. “I know that there is resistance from e-procurement and accounting officers who do not want that. That is why they are sponsoring headlines of how Mbadi spent billions in a non-working system. We will not be distracted by your noise, and I want to ask any official who is not willing to work with us to bolt out of government and go look for another job,” he directed.
The President further defended the Social Health Authority (SHA) system, which has also faced criticism. He insisted that the system was functional and had exposed fraudulent claims lodged by health facilities.
“When we say we want a verification of the Ksh30 billion claims made by hospitals, they say they do not want verification because they know that within those claims are plots to defraud the government of money. The SHA system is working and has really helped spot and weed out rogue claimants,” Ruto said.
He added that his administration would not release funds without accountability. “We are not going to pay until we verify; we are not going to spend government money to pay corrupt people. We are telling you that you should stop dreaming and that we will track you, apprehend you, and take you to court, because we must be accountable to the people of Kenya,” he affirmed.
Ruto's Bag of Goodies
During the same visit, President Ruto unveiled a raft of development projects for Siaya County. He announced that the Kenya Ports Authority would construct a pier at Usenge and begin a feasibility study for another one at Asembo.
He also launched major road projects aimed at opening up rural Siaya, revealing that the government had increased the allocation from Ksh500 million to Ksh2.5 billion. The figure, he added, would further rise by Ksh1.5 billion, bringing the total to Ksh4 billion.
Ruto disclosed that the Kenya Defence Forces would, beginning September 8, undertake infrastructural improvements at Siaya Stadium and the Siaya County Referral Hospital. The project will see the hospital’s bed capacity expanded to improve healthcare access, with Ksh500 million earmarked for the stadium upgrade.
The Head of State further announced that the government would construct 8,000 affordable housing units in Siaya, with an allocation of Ksh22 billion already in place for the project. The units are being constructed in major towns in Siaya, including Ukwala, Ugunja, Nyamninia, and Bondo, among others.
He also revealed that both levels of government would meet investors to explore ways of reviving and expanding the Dominion Farms irrigation and rice-growing project. To crown his visit, Ruto donated Ksh20 million towards the construction of St Peter’s ACK Cathedral in Siaya.
