HOMA BAY, Kenya Mar 23 – President William Ruto has cautioned that converting agricultural land for settlement is causing excessive land sub-division, threatening food security and agricultural productivity.
Speaking at Mabera Grounds in Kuria West Constituency, Migori County, during the handover of keys to 60 beneficiaries of the Affordable Housing Programme, President Ruto emphasized that rural residents should embrace affordable housing to protect farmland for farming activities.
“The Affordable Housing Programme, especially in rural areas, will greatly help reduce land fragmentation and ensure enhanced farming activities,” he said.
President Ruto also warned parents who fail to take their children to school, directing National Government Administration Officers to work with police to ensure compliance.
“We want every child in Kenya to be in school because education is the greatest equaliser,” he said, noting that the government spends over Sh700 billion annually on education.
He decried the practice of children in arid and semi-arid areas herding livestock while their peers attend school elsewhere.
During the opening of Piny-Owacho Level 3 Hospital in Uriri Constituency, the President pledged to fully equip the facility with medical supplies and staff. He encouraged residents to register with the Social Health Authority (SHA) to benefit from universal health coverage, highlighting that SHA has paid Sh2.4 billion to hospitals in Migori County in the past year.
President Ruto laid the foundation for Mabera Modern Market and inspected construction works at Kegonga Sub-County Hospital, a Sh345 million investment.
Additional projects include Sh200 million modern market in Kegonga town, Sh150 million hostels at Kegonga KMTC for healthcare students, Sh28 billion allocated to Migori County for affordable housing, modern markets, and student hostels and Sh2.3 billion to connect households to electricity.
The head of state also launched the Sondu-Homa Bay electricity transmission line in Ndiwa Constituency, Homa Bay County, to improve regional power supply.
President Ruto condemned leaders promoting ethnic politics and exclusion, urging focus on national unity and development.
