Ruto in crisis talks with Western MPs over budget 'raw deal'

PRESIDENT William Ruto was on Thursday forced into crisis talks with MPs from the Western region to avert mounting disquiet over the glaring exclusion of key regional projects from the budget.

The impromptu meeting was held at State House after the lawmakers started caucusing on their own about the budget snub.

At the heart of the discontent is the exclusion of major infrastructure, health, and industrialisation projects President Ruto promised the region but are not factored in the budget.

MPs are presently considering estimates for the financial year beginning July 1, in which the government seeks to spend Sh4.23 trillion.

Aware of the potential political fallout and the delicate balance within his administration, Ruto reportedly called the meeting to “iron out concerns” and reaffirm his commitment to fulfilling regional development promises.

Several MPs from the region told the Star that the meeting was urgently convened in the morning on Thursday after lawmakers from Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia, and Trans Nzoia counties raised the alarm over what they termed as a "betrayal of the region" in the 2025-2026 budget.

The Western MPs first met in Nairobi on Tuesday, where the issue of exclusion from the budget was raised. Central to their cry is that more resources were being channelled to Nyanza, which is among the areas Ruto is courting for his re-election bid.

The legislators from Western, which is also in Ruto's political calculus, argue that major development pledges have been glaringly absent or underfunded in the proposed budget tabled in Parliament last week.

“We had meetings a month ago and discussed the same projects but when now the budget came out, those projects were not factored, and those that made it to the budget were given very minimal amounts that don’t make sense. If you put Sh100 million on a project that requires billions, you have done nothing,” a dejected second-term MP told the Star in confidence.

“We felt like our region is not getting adequate attention and our meetings are now turning out to be a photo session without any meaningful agenda,” a senator said.

In further good tidings for Nyanza, President Ruto announced that the government would invest Sh1 billion to develop blue economy infrastructure, including Usenge pier and attendant port facilities at Sh600 million and a fish market at Sh400 million.

He said the government would build 16 markets in the county at a cost of Sh2.5 billion, while Sh1.6 billion has been set aside for the last-mile electricity programme to connect 16,000 households.

"We are looking for another Sh500 million to enable us to connect another 5,000 households to electricity," President Ruto said.

In agriculture, the President explained that Siaya and other counties would benefit from the government's revival of cotton farming.  The investments have sparked protests.

Saboti MP Caleb Amisi told the Star that the issue of exclusion is serious among leaders from the region.

While admitting that he was not invited to the meeting, given his head-on confrontations with the current regime, Amisi said most of the key projects in his constituency were left out of the budget despite promises by the President.

“I was not there (at State House). I was not invited, and I would not have gone. They have branded us anti-Ruto,” Amisi said.

“Saboti is the only constituency without an inch of tarmac road; no road in the constituency is in the budget.  We had Turbo-Bixton up to Saboti, but they have only allocated up to Turbo, leaving out Saboti, yet the road cuts across three constituencies.”

He also listed the Kambi Miwa–Kaptama and Kitale–Kisawayi roads as some of the projects promised by the President but which have not been allocated any funds.

“The only thing they put in Saboti is a youth empowerment centre for Sh50 million,” the ODM lawmaker stated.

In recent weeks, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has been protesting what he termed as systematic marginalisation of Western with attention turned to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Nyanza region.

“Two years plus 10 months since the promise, Western is still waiting for the 1,000 kilometres of tarmac roads and 30 per cent share of government,” Khalwale posted on May 23.

“Meanwhile, just nine months in, broad-based government state projects abound in the Nyanza region.“

Another lawmaker who requested anonymity told the Star the State House meeting was for damage control but may add to the endless promises without any tangible outcome.

“The budget is already done; this is the last budget before the 2027 elections. The budget of 2026-27 will be largely about elections,” the MP said on the phone.

“This is the only budget that needed to have our projects factored. Even the things he (Ruto) went to the ground and promised are not there.”

On Tuesday, a section of MPs from Western Kenya held talks in Nairobi as part of their consultations on the country’s political dynamics.

The Star has established that budget exclusion was the main issue on the table, with leaders expressing reservations over how their region is being treated.

The meeting also brought together politicians from across the political divide, including allies of both President Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila.

The meeting was chaired by Sirisia MP John Waluke, chairman of the Western parliamentary caucus, and attended by, among others, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and ODM deputy party leader Geoffrey Osotsi.

Others present were Beatrice Adagala (Vihiga Woman Representative), Tim Wanyonyi (Westlands), Titus Khamala (Lurambi), Oku Kaunya (Teso North), Nabii Nabwera (Lugari), and Raphael Wanjala (Budalang’i).

On his X account, Sifuna did not disclose the agenda of the meeting but noted that he had been invited by his colleagues from Western Kenya for “tea.”

However, the ODM secretary general hinted that the meeting touched on several challenges facing the country, though he did not elaborate.

“A section of colleague MPs from the larger Western Kenya invited me to tea. It’s always good to put our heads together to address the challenges facing the nation,” he posted on Tuesday.

Waluke termed the Tuesday meeting as crucial in identifying areas of key interest for the sake of their people.

“As the chairman of the Western parliamentary caucus, I am glad for the new meaningful development that will enable us to continue forging as the people from this region,” he said.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

President Ruto’s convening of an impromptu meeting with Western MPs is seen as a move to avert the disquiet caused by the exclusion of key promises from the coming year's budget. Leaders from the region have been complaining of marginalisation despite supporting the current administration in the last elections.