Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday, November 1, made an impromptu stop at Chuka town and spoke on various development projects in the area.
The DP heaped praise on Jubilee government for developing stadiums and roads in the area; and went on to single out a particular a road contractor for allegedly slowing down road the rehabilitation of the 28-kilometre Chuka-Kaareni Road.
"Najua shida kubawa hapa ni Chuka-Kaareni road. Kuna contractor tulimpatia hii kazi na ametusumbua kweli kweli, (I know that the biggest issue here is the Chuka-Kaareni road. We gave it to this contractor who has really given us a hard time," he stated.
"Kuna shetani amefunga barabara (there is a devil that has been blocking the road construction)," he added.
The company contracted to carry out the road works has been on the spot over the last few years with residents taking to the streets in September 2019 in protest over the state of the roads.
Tharaka Nithi County leaders led by Senator Kithure Kindiki and Governor Muthomi Njuki have been accusing the contractor of laxity and poor workmanship.
Reports indicated that in six years, only six kilometres of the road had been paved, which translated to 1km per year.
According to reports, the contractor has already received Ksh288.7 million out of the total Ksh537.2 million.
In Tharaka constituency, 36-kilometer Gatunga-Marimanti-Ciakariga road that was launched by Prof Kindiki and Njuki on July 27, 2016, was expected to be complete on January 27, 2019, but only 15.62 kilometers has been tarmacked.
The road also assigned to the said contractors was later relaunched separately by DP Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta during 2017 election campaign giving locals a lot of hope.
According to the report dated March 31, 2020, most of the contractors lack capacity to undertake the work and the only solution is to either revoke the contracts or sub-contract.
Speaking directly to the Chuka residents, DP Ruto promised to see out the project to its completion, adding that his experience in the jubilee government made him the ideal candidate to succeed President Uhuru.
The country's second in command continued his recent rhetoric regarding the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), asking for dialogues that would negate the need for a referendum.
He then revealed that Ksh600 million had been disbursed to the Chuka to work on expanding the water and sewerage company
Watch DP Ruto's speech in Chuka below:
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) November 1, 2020
