President William Ruto has confirmed that his administration is looking to build a State Lodge in Meru Town by December 2025.
Speaking at the AIPCA church in Meru on Sunday, Ruto relayed that the new construction would facilitate his future stays in the town, as it has been pegged to be Kenya's sixth city.
As such, he also confirmed that plans were underway, both at the national level and at the county level, to ensure that Meru became the next city after Eldoret.
Insisting that he was also forward to having Meru as a city, he relayed that he would take advantage of the city status to have a State Lodge in the region, declaring, "There can't be a city here, and I fail to show up."
"I have told my people to have a State Lodge ready for me by December, where I will come and we will discuss issues of this region of Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo and the rest," he added.
To hasten the process of making Meru a city, Ruto announced that his administration had set aside about Ksh20 billion just for the upgrading of roads in the region to city status.
A further Ksh800 million had been allocated to renovate Meru's biggest market, Gakoromone, to also upgrade it to city status.
However, he did not direct where the new State Lodge will be built, a subject that has been of great concern, even attracting opposition from green activists after suspicions that he plans to build it on the gazetted forest land.
In a letter to the Principal Secretary for Forestry, Gitonga Mugambi, on September 18, the Green Belt Movement (GBM) sought clarification whether the President had issued an order to develop the forest, as some media reports had earlier reported.
"The Green Belt Movement writes to you seeking urgent clarification on the alleged plan to excise part of Imenti Forest in Meru County to construct a State Lodge and a golf course," the petition read in part.
"This follows an alleged public directive by His Excellency President William Ruto and the widespread concern and uproar that has since emerged across social media platforms and among communities who rely on this forest for their livelihoods."
The movement had requested a clear, written response to its inquiry within seven days of the reception of the letter, as the matter was urgent.
Among others, it had requested to know whether the President had considered other locations for the State Lodge and, most importantly, whether the ministry had approved or initiated any process to acquire the Imenti Forest land.
Last year, the government committed to constructing a State Lodge in Turkwel, West Pokot County, at an estimated cost of Ksh230 million.
It is, however, unclear how much the new State Lodge will cost, but it will most certainly add to the growing costs of running the Executive.
