CS Kuria urges leaders to support Raila’s bid for top AU job

Public Service and Delivery Management Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has drummed up his support for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission’s top seat.

Speaking during a church fund drive at Korinda Busia County, Kuria rallied his support saying the top seat was suitable for the former Prime minister saying he was equal to the task.

He then called upon leaders in the country to rally behind Raila noting that if he wins, Kenya wins. The CS further challenged leaders to stop politicking and pick up development projects in the county.

Meanwhile, the CS says that it is high time farmers get to work, making use of the fertiliser subsidy programme, rather than get lost in the noise and regret later.

The CS said only 2,000 bags of subsidized fertilizer had failed the quality test and had effectively been withdrawn from the market and NCPB stores.

“Out of the six brands being distributed under the subsidy program, five passed the quality test. Only one, Ken Chemicals, failed the test and their 2,000 bags were withdrawn from the market,” Kuria said.

The five firms that passed the quality test include Mavuno Fertilizer, OCP Africa, Falcon Fertilizers, Minjingu Mines & Fertilizer Limited and FOMI.

During the recent government performance and delivery roadshow with the Ministry of Agriculture, the team established that a total of 5.9 million bags of fertilizer was issued to 995,517 farmers in 2023 through the subsidy program which increased maize production from 40 million bags to more than sixty-seven million bags of maize, a 59.7 per cent increase.

The Ministry of Agriculture also increased the registration of farmers through the e-voucher digital platform from 1.3 million farmers in 2002 to 6.42 million farmers in 2023, a 393% increase. In line with the fertilizer subsidy program, maize production is projected to grow from sixty-seven million bags in 2023 to 80 million bags annually towards 2027.

At the same time, while announcing that the National Youth Service (NYS) camp in Budalang’i would reopen with immediate effect, Kuria said NYS would partner with Busia County to lease 10,000 acres of land for rice, cotton and edible oil farming to curb imports and save on foreign exchange.

They called for unity of purpose and an end to divisive politics and instead focused on driving the country’s transformative agenda forward.