UDA delegation studies rural regeneration model in China

A delegation from the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has made a study visit to familiarise itself with rural revitalisation initiative at Xiaogucheng Village in Zhejiang Province.

The visit, undertaken at the invitation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), seeks to strengthen UDA’s internal structures and leadership development frameworks.

China’s rural revitalisation model focuses on grassroots governance, community participation and local economic transformation.

The team is led by UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar Hassan and includes Senator Danson Mungatana (Tana River), Turkana County Woman Representative Cecilia Ngetit, Senior Advisor to the President Prof Edward Kisiangani, UDA Executive Director Nicodemus Bore, NEC member Mark Lumunokol, Dr Adrian Kamotho of the Economic Transformation and Development Resource Centre (ENDRC), Omulo Junior (Director, County Affairs), Daniel Kiptoo (Director, Programmes and Partnerships), Sabastian Mwangangi (Special Advisor to the Secretary General) and Kennedy Obuya, the UDA Homa Bay County Congress chairperson.

In a statement posted on X, the party said the initiative offered key lessons on how local governance structures can drive development at the grassroots level.

UDA described the Xiaogucheng Village model as “an exemplary illustration of how democratic consultation within a village can catalyzs societal transformation at the local level, elevating rural villages into exemplars of civilization, ecological preservation, cultural heritage, and public safety.”

“It highlights the significance of establishing political governance structures that direct self-initiatives towards the advancement of community development and rural governance,” the party said.

According to UDA, the China visit is also a benchmarking mission aimed at learning from the CPC’s leadership academy, which the party says has robust systems that feed into China’s national leadership while maintaining a strong grassroots network.

UDA noted that the development of its own school of leadership is at an advanced stage, making the benchmarking exercise timely.

“The party has sent a delegation to China on a benchmarking mission to learn from China’s Communist Party leadership academy that has robust structures that feed into its national leadership and a strong grassroots network,” the statement said.

The visit is part of broader efforts by UDA to deepen party-to-party collaboration with the CPC, particularly in building stronger institutions, enhancing discipline in public leadership and strengthening anti-corruption measures. Party officials said UDA hopes to leverage structured cooperation with the CPC to cultivate an ideological foundation anchored in public service, national development and institutional strength.

This is not the first time a political party linked to President William Ruto has sought to learn from China’s political organisation and leadership training model.

Over the past decade, officials from the Communist Party of China have made several visits to Kenya, proposing cooperation initiatives that include the establishment of leadership academies and training programmes.

In 2014, when President Ruto was serving as Deputy President, then President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted CPC official Guo Jinglong at State House in what marked one of the earliest high-level engagements between Kenya’s political leadership and the Chinese ruling party.