Ruiru constituency in Kiambu County deserves more allocation of resources on account of its huge population, Governor Kimani Wamatangi says.

In a renewed quest to have the electoral area split, the Governor noted that Ruiru with a of population of over 700,000 people merits more from the national cake.

Wamatangi who spoke during the switching of solar-powered streetlights in Kahawa Sukari, Kahawa Wendani, Kiuu, and Mwihoko wards under his Angaza Kiambu program, said he was forced to split the constituency into two municipalities—Ruiru and Githurai—to attract an additional grant of Sh250 million annually for infrastructure development.

Previously, the consistency only had one municipality—Ruiru, which was getting an annual grant of Sh250 million and with Githurai now being an independent municipality, it will attract another Sh250 million, totaling Sh500 million for tarmacking of roads, drainage, solar street lighting, and garbage collection.

“Ruiru has been getting verbal distinction as Kenya’s most populous constituency but got less than half of its share in allocation of resources. I have had to go out of my way to split it into two municipalities to attract more development funding,” said Wamatangi.

The county chief reiterated that his government has adopted solar-powered street-lighting as the regional unit moves to reduce electricity bills that exceed one billion shillings annually. He said the county has procured close to 10,000 solar lights that are being installed across all sixty wards, adding that the installation is expected to be complete by March.

High power bills

Wamatangi said that besides occasional disruptions caused by power outages and disconnections resulting from unpaid bills and low voltages, the county government has been spending over one billion shillings on electricity alone, where hospitals consume power worth over Sh1.2 billion and streetlights Sh260 million per year. 

“The trend is not sustainable. Because of the high power bills, most of the streetlights are always off. When these bills go up, the power supplier, to ensure they are paid, targets sensitive institutions like hospitals and county offices to force payment,” Wamatangi said, adding that the county pays about Sh150 million in power bills per month.

“We decided to adopt green energy because it will drastically reduce our power bills. When it comes to streetlights, they are durable and have almost zero maintenance cost.