What President Ruto will be doing as he starts two-day Nyanza tour

President William Ruto is today (Friday, January 13) starting a two-day working tour of the Nyanza region, covering Kisumu, Homa Bay and Siaya counties.

During his tour of the region, President Ruto will launch several projects which he says will directly impact on the lives of the people and are in line with Kenya Kwanza government’s bottom-up economic agenda.

The bottom-up model, advocated by President Ruto, places premium on economic transformation, especially for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

In October 2022 soon after he was sworn in as the 5th President of the Republic of Kenya, Ruto visited Homa Bay County. State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed says that the head of state is returning to fulfill some of the pledges he made.

"The President will launch the first phase of the 5,000 affordable housing programme for Homa Bay County. The project is expected to not only alleviate the housing deficit (decent and affordable) in the county, but also significantly boost the local economy," Hussein said in a press briefing on Thursday, January 12.

The project, according to State House, will cover several towns including Oyugis, Kendu Bay and Mbita.

President Ruto has on several occasion highlighted that the affordable housing programme is a key plank of his government’s economic transformational agenda. He has also insisted that it is not only about low-cost and decent housing needs, but also meant to create jobs for thousands of youth and stimulate the economy.

"In this programme, just as the others he has launched, housing parts such as doors, windows, gates and hinges will be supplied by local Jua Kali associations. This will boost the local economy and put money in the pockets of hustlers in Homa Bay. Jua Kali enterprises will expand and create jobs and wealth for the the three million people in the sub-sector," Hussein added.

Homa Bay was the first devolved county government to sign the Affordable Housing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April 2018. The county has set aside 11.6 acres for the affordable housing project.

The President will also launch and inspect other projects in the region, including commissioning the newly completed Oyugis market and break ground for the Homa Bay fish market.

He is expected to preside over the commissioning of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) Blue Economy Research Hub.