Ruto:BBI will win my heart only after addressing issues facing common mwananchi
By Winfridah Muthee and James Macharia
Deputy president William Ruto on Thursday spoke to Kenyans and stated his stand on the Building Bridges Innitiative, (BBI).
From his Karen residence in Nairobi, through Radio Citizen, Ruto spoke to Kenyans, an interview that cut across various political issues. This has come even, as many questioned his silence as well as absence in the public eye, some presuming that he was taken ill.
In the early morning interview, the DP started by sending a message of condolence to the family of the fallen, editor-in-chief Robin Njogu. Njogu served in Royal Media Services company and other media outlets.
In response to the question of where he had been for those days, the DP said that he had been busy in the office and also examining the administration of Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Ruto took the opportunity to persuade Kenyans to take part in the vaccination programme in their respective locations.
Ruto spoke with a clarity of thought about his stand on BBI report, and did not shy away from saying that he has a problem with it. He said that he will only support the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2020 after it addresses the real issues facing the Kenyan majority; the common mwananchi.
Amongst the issues the DP claimed to have a problem with the BBI is the position of the Women Representative. He reprimanded the government and the whole BBI brigade on how they can purport to be empowering women by transferring the women positions from the National assembly, where discussions on the sharing of resources are held, to Senate where they’ll have no say on the same.
The Deputy President also told off those perpetuating ethnic-oriented politics, who he claimed are the ones who’ve diluted his relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“They are enemies of national development and want us to shift our focus from Nation building to politics of selfishness,” he said.
The DP maintained that he is still inside the ruling party as the deputy president amid behind-the-scenes plot to kick him out. Ruto said that they’re the same people who kicked out other leaders who ally to him from various departmental committees and other positions. He alluded the move to a Biblical story of Nehemiah and Tobias when the later insulted Nehemiah when rebuilding the collapsed wall.
The DP also went on and highlighted some of the achievements of the government prior to the BBI storm.
The 140 technical colleges built across the country, offering courses to youths who miss University points, and the billions of money blown into them for installing facilities.
The rural electrification programme, reaching out millions of families who previously live in darkness.
The 7,500 kilometers of newly constructed roads, thus boosting transportation network.
And when asked whether he can work with Raila Odinga, Ruto had this to say. “I will work with anybody whose intention is to improve the living standards of the common citizen.”
The exclusive interview won’t have been complete without touching on the hustler narrative.
The second in command added that those fighting the hustler narrative was a sign of cowardice and nervousness upon knowledge that that’s the philosophy resonating with Kenyans and that’s where road meets the rubber.
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