President William Ruto visits one of the stalls during Murang’a investors conference at Thika Greens Hotel
President William Ruto has hailed the Affordable Housing
project for stemming sub-division of agricultural land.
The President has said one benefit of the project is
ensuring that land meant for production of food is not used for settlement.
Speaking during Murang’a County Investors Conference on Friday, June 13, 2025, Ruto
said sub-division of land poses a major threat to food security as it eats into
the land meant for agricultural purposes.
He said agricultural counties such as Murang’a stand to lose
if more land designated for farming activities is affected and that the
availability of alternative settlement reduces pressure on the crucial
resource.
“This is why the affordable housing project is important for
Murang’a county, so that it can continue leading in the production of tea and
avocado fruits,” he said.
He emphasized that the government plans to establish 10,000
housing units in the first phase after which the second phase will kick off.
The project, he said, serves the country in reversing land
fragmentation despite providing affordable housing for Kenyans.
Ruto also noted that the numerous Economic Stimulus
Programme (ESP) and modern markets being established in all parts of the
country are aimed at providing a means for farmers to monetize their farming.
The government is currently in the process of constructing
400 markets nationally, with 33 being established in Murang’a county.
The markets, he noted, provide cold storage facilities and
conducive environments for local farmers to market their produce while cutting post-harvest
losses that currently stand at 40 percent.
“Currently, a lot of produce goes to waste because farmers don’t
have cold storage facilities or adequate storage. They incur huge losses after
working so hard. I have given clear instructions that that 400 markets are
built so that we reduce the losses”.
He lauded the county government for organizing the investors
conference attended by thousands of guests underscoring the importance of
highlighting the potential in every county.
“When I called Governor Irungu Kang’ata and we discussed the
land ceded by Delmonte, I asked him to set aside 500 acres for the Special
Economic Zone (SEZ). Not only did he do that but he allocated all the 1,300
acres for manufacturing purposes”.
He pledged to support the county government in realizing its
aspiration of establishing a flourishing (SEZ) asking the Ministry of Trade to facilitate
the establishment of processing plants by both local and international
investors.
He further gave an assurance that the land will be gazetted
as a Special Economic Zone to make it easier for the county to partner with
private investors.
“We will facilitate all the required areas to change the
land into a manufacturing zone so that we can unlock its potential. We will
also work together to support infrastructural development in the facility”.
He said the government will complete all stalled road
projects in the county to allow smooth transportation of raw materials from the
farms to the SEZ before starting new ones.
In establishing six extra special economic zones in the
country, the President said his aim was to foster agro-processing as county aggregation and industrial parks help in primary value-addition.
Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, who was among an array of
attendees, said industrialization is the only way to create jobs for millions of
jobless Kenyans.
This way, he said, they can pay taxes and contribute to the
growth of the economy.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome on her part commended
the President for attending the conference saying Murang’a county is endowed
with industrialists and financial services leaders.
Wahome pledged to engage the National Lands Commission to
have allotment letters provided for the land covered by the SEZ.
She noted that the government is in the process of establishing
6,800 hostels for local technical learning institutions and KMTC, with 10
affordable housing projects set to be established in the county.