Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has defended President William Ruto’s development record, saying the Kenya Kwanza administration has delivered an extensive development agenda whose impact is increasingly visible across the country. He said the Government’s focus on infrastructure, jobs and economic transformation was giving Kenyans tangible projects, unlike an opposition that has increasingly relied on criticism without presenting credible alternative solutions.
Speaking while inspecting development projects in Tharaka Nithi, Prof Kindiki said the Government was determined to address Kenya’s long-standing infrastructure deficit through a sustained programme of investment. He pointed to the planned National Infrastructure Fund as a major solution to the country’s road financing challenges, saying it would mobilise resources for large-scale projects instead of spreading funds thinly across numerous short road sections.
Kindiki said the next major dual-carriageway project after the Rironi-Mau Summit Road would run from Makutano through Mwea, Embu, Chuka, Meru and Maua. The proposed corridor is expected to transform transport and trade across Mt Kenya East by connecting agricultural production areas, urban centres and commercial markets while reducing travel times and lowering the cost of doing business.
The Deputy President made the remarks while inspecting the KSh2.5 billion Kibugua-Mukuuni-Itugururu-Kabururu-Kamaindi-Murugi Road Junction project in Chuka Igambang’ombe Constituency. The project is expected to improve connectivity and provide farmers with better access to markets, reinforcing the Government’s broader strategy of using infrastructure to unlock economic opportunities at the grassroots.
Kindiki said Kenya must move away from an approach where major infrastructure projects are implemented in small, disconnected sections. He argued that concentrating resources on transformative corridors would deliver greater economic returns and accelerate national development. His vision, he said, was for Kenya to become a major construction site over the next 10 to 15 years and ultimately attain first-world standards within two to three decades.
The Government’s development agenda, however, extends beyond roads. Across the country, the administration has placed housing, healthcare, agriculture, electricity, digital infrastructure, water and other basic services at the centre of its economic transformation programme. The emphasis is on ensuring that development reaches ordinary households and creates opportunities for young people, farmers, traders and businesses.
Kindiki also highlighted the employment opportunities created by infrastructure projects, particularly for young Kenyans. During his inspection, he praised the young professionals and artisans working on the Chuka project, saying their participation demonstrated how public investment can simultaneously improve infrastructure and create livelihoods. Construction, therefore, is being positioned not only as a development tool but also as an engine for employment and skills development.
In Maara, the Deputy President inspected the Marima-Makutano Road, which is expected to extend the completed Kathwana-Makutano road and link it to the Thuci-Nkubu road. Such connections illustrate the administration’s stated intention to build an integrated road network capable of linking communities to markets, schools, hospitals, agricultural centres and other economic facilities.
Against this backdrop, Kindiki has challenged President Ruto’s critics to present their own development records rather than relying on political rhetoric. He particularly challenged former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to explain what roads, water projects and electricity connections he helped deliver in Tharaka Nithi while serving in Government. The challenge reflects the Kenya Kwanza administration’s increasingly direct strategy of making the 2027 political contest a comparison of records.
The Deputy President has also dismissed the opposition’s persistent criticism of the Government as insufficient to address Kenya’s challenges. While political opponents continue to lament the administration’s policies and highlight areas where they believe the Government has fallen short, Kindiki’s argument is that criticism without a workable alternative agenda does little to solve problems facing citizens. He has therefore urged political leaders to present concrete programmes that Kenyans can evaluate.
The emerging political contest is consequently likely to centre increasingly on competing development visions. For the Ruto administration, the argument is that projects being implemented across counties provide a physical and measurable scorecard that cannot simply be dismissed through political statements. From roads and housing to healthcare, digital connectivity, energy and agricultural investments, the Government is seeking to demonstrate that its agenda is national rather than limited to particular regions.
With the 2027 General Election approaching, Kindiki has expressed confidence that the Government will ultimately be judged by its performance on the ground. His message is that Kenyans will have the opportunity to compare the Kenya Kwanza administration’s development record with that of its critics. “Let those who are criticising us put their development record on the table,” he said, arguing that the electorate should determine which side has delivered more tangible results.
The broader political significance of the Deputy President’s remarks is clear: the Ruto administration intends to make development delivery a central pillar of its 2027 campaign narrative. By highlighting completed projects, ongoing investments and planned infrastructure corridors, the Government is seeking to shift the political debate from personalities and rhetoric to measurable outcomes. For the opposition, the challenge will be to move beyond lamentations and criticism and offer Kenyans a coherent, credible and nationally inclusive alternative agenda.
