President William Ruto has unveiled a bag of goodies for Nyanza residents during his latest tour of the region, in his latest charm offensive to capture the political goodwill of the region.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the ongoing Piny Luo Cultural Festival 2024, Ruto announced the handover of key handouts from the government to the residents of Nyanza County. Among the notable handouts was the elevation of the Ramogi Campus of Nyang’oma Technical College to a standalone campus.
According to Ruto, the elevation of the institution will help in preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Luo community by enabling learners to gain knowledge from the institution.
”In honour of this event, and the presence of our friend Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, we will then announce that this Ramogi Campus is officially opened today,” Ruto announced.
A photo collage of President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. PHOTO/ William Ruto.
”The institution will begin admitting students beginning this January. We have built that institution at almost a cost of Ksh400 million,” he added.
Ruto also announced that the government will build a fish landing site at Wich Lum Beach for Ksh100 million to support the blue economy of the Nyanza region.
”We will be building a fish landing site in Wich Lum at a cost of Ksh100 million to support the fishing community,” he announced.
Consequently, Siaya County will look to benefit from key tourism resources from the government, following Ruto’s bag of goodies awarded during the festival.
Got Ramogi Forest has now been formally gazetted as a certified natural cultural heritage and will boost its position as a key tourism spot.
President Ruto also announced that the government is working on a process to gazette key cultural and historical sites in Siaya County that will help promote tourism in Kenya.
Additionally, the government, through the Ministry of Tourism, has embarked on the process of certifying and gazetting another seven cultural sites which include the cell blocks at Oyamo Island in Lake Victoria, Paramount Chief Odera Akang’o’s residence, and the Owinya Sigoma Heritage Complex.
The other sites include the Mau Mau detention site on the Magenga and Miguena Islands and the Nomiya Church, which he said holds a deep cultural link to the Luo community.
Ruto has been keen on bringing the Nyanza region to his political good books ever since the decision to incorporate the leaders that were from the opposition to the broad-based government.
President William Ruto (fourth left) receives leaders from the Nyanza region at State House, Nairobi on Monday, March 13.
William Ruto