President William Ruto has called on the church to support his administration’s campaign against corruption, warning looters of public resources of dire consequences and accusing them of sabotaging the country's progress.
Dr Ruto said that he would not relent in the fight against corruption, noting that individuals implicated in the theft of public funds would not only be arrested and prosecuted, but also be required to refund the embezzled resources.
“We must eliminate corruption by all means, and I ask the church to support us in this fight. This is the only way we are going to transform this country and catch up with the Asian Tigers — Singapore and Malaysia, who were once at the same level as us,” he said.
The Head of State made this appeal during the establishment of the Catholic Diocese of Kapsabet and the episcopal installation of the Right Reverend Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei at the Eliud Kipchoge Sports Complex in Kapsabet Town.
The ceremony was led by Hubertus Maria van Megen, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya, and was attended by Catholic bishops and local leaders.
Dr Ruto said that the government would pursue individuals suspected of stealing from the Social Health Authority (SHA) systems in order to curb fraud in the healthcare sector, and that those found to be implicated in graft would be prosecuted and made to refund the money stolen.
‘It is unfortunate that some individuals are stealing from the sick, but we are now going to deal with them decisively and make them pay back what they have stolen,’ said Dr Ruto, urging the church to join his administration's fight against corruption.
He urged more Kenyans to enrol with the SHA, noting that 450,000 people from Nandi alone have registered with the system, while 400,000 others have yet to do so. This is necessary for proper planning and the delivery of quality services.
President Ruto promised to implement programmes aimed at transforming the country while fighting corruption, noting that economic saboteurs would have no place in his administration.
“We must deal with ethnic negativity and division, and focus on transforming this country so that it can compete with Asian giants, which are now in the First World, while we are still lagging behind in the Third World,” said Dr Ruto.
He defended the affordable housing programme, noting that it was a solution to land fragmentation, which has led to the subdivision of arable land into small, uneconomical plots posing a threat to the country’s food security.
“Apart from offering employment opportunities to our youth, affordable housing has been proven to solve the problem of land fragmentation,” said Dr Ruto, noting that many of the housing units were ready for occupation across the country.
He announced the release of 3.6 billion Kenyan shillings for the upgrade of roads in Kapsabet Town, as well as a further 1.4 billion Kenyan shillings to connect an additional 20,000 households to the electricity grid.
A further Sh760 million will be released to construct a modern stadium in Kapsabet to promote sports in the county, the source of champions.
The event was attended by Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, his Uasin Gishu counterpart Jonathan Bii, senators, MPs, and hundreds of Catholic faithful.
