Ruto missing as Uhuru meets top government officers

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday chaired a meeting of senior government officers, where he demanded the completion of ongoing projects, a key deliverable 17 months to the end of his term.

In the meeting at State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta asked Cabinet Secretaries, Chief Administrative Secretaries and Principal Secretaries to prioritise projects already launched in a bid to ensure their completion.

“The President outlined to the officers his vision and priorities for this year, top among them the completion of ongoing government projects and programmes across all sectors and regions of the country,” State House spokesperson Kanze Dena Mararo said in a statement.

Images released by State House showed Deputy President William Ruto was missing from the event, with Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua sitting at the high table with the Head of State.

Dr Ruto, President Kenyatta’s estranged deputy, was also locked out of a similar meeting of senior government officials in August last year, with State House saying then that the meeting was only for the Head of State to outline his vision to his juniors.

The meeting, State House said, was for the Head of State to discuss government priorities for the current calendar year, including the implementation of the Big 4 Agenda and the Vision 2030 flagship projects.

President Kenyatta has listed the provision of universal healthcare, 500,000 affordable homes, food security, and the increase of manufacturing contribution to the country’s wealth to 20 per cent, all by 2022, as his Big Four legacy-driven agenda.

“The President instructed the Officials to ensure prudent utilization of public resources in service delivery saying Kenyans must always get the highest value return for their money,” State House said.

The Head of State, State House said, urged the officers to embrace teamwork and unity of purpose so as to deliver the promise of a better and prosperous Kenya for all.