President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed former Kinangop MP David Ngugi to chair a government board immediately after revoking his appointment to another board.
In a gazette notice on Friday, May 21, Kenyatta revoked Ngugi's appointment as a board member of the LAPPSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) Board replacing him with Mohammed Hashim.
At the same time, Ngugi was selected to chair the board of the National Council for Population and Development for a period of three years. The agency's role is to advice the government on all matters pertaining to population.
Ngugi was David Ngugi was elected to represent the Kinangop Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya in the 2007 Kenyan parliamentary election.
He unsuccessfully vied for the governor of Nyandarua in the 2013 general elections.
The LCDA was established through the Presidential Order to plan, coordinate and manage the implementation of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor.
It is domiciled in the Presidency in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and covers over half of the country with a planned investment resource equivalent to half of Kenya’s GDP for the core investment alone.
Conservative feasibility statistics that had been conducted showed that the project will inject between 2% to 3% of GDP into the economy.
The project has many components which include Lamu port, highways, railway, crude oil and products pipelines, a refinery, Lamu and Isiolo metropolis, both with airports.
On Thursday, May 20, President Kenyatta presided over the operationalization of the first berth of the new Lamu Port, marking a major milestone for the regional Ksh2.5 trillion Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor project (LAPSSET) launched in 2012.
When complete, the Ksh 310 billion port will have 32 berths, 29 of which will be financed by the private sector, making it the largest deep-water port in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The President noted that Lamu Port was strategically located at the convergence of major shipping routes, saying its operationalization will open up northern Kenya to international trade, thereby fortifying the country’s position as a top economic gateway to Africa.
"With one of the deep-water harbours on the east coast of Africa, Lamu Port has the potential to become a premier transshipment hub for all cargo destined for the continent.
"Furthermore, Lamu now joins Mombasa Port as a key entry and exit point of cargo, deep into and out of Africa’s hinterland," he noted.
