President William Ruto interacts with mama mbogas at a market in Kilifi on October 2, 2026/PCSPresident William Ruto has announced new investments in education, roads, markets and land ownership as he continued his development tour of the Coast region, linking the projects to efforts to expand economic opportunities for residents.
Speaking during the tour, Ruto said access to higher education should be determined by students’ academic ability rather than their parents’ financial circumstances.
He said the proposed Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, would provide full financial support to students admitted to universities, technical colleges and Kenya Medical Training College.
The President made the remarks as he outlined a series of investments in education and skills development, beginning with the foundation stone for Sh150 million student hostels at Godoma Technical Training Institute in Ganze Constituency, Kilifi County.
Ruto said the government would invest a further Sh200 million to expand the institution’s facilities and increase its capacity to accommodate twice its current student population.
He said the investments were part of a broader effort to equip young people with skills required to take advantage of new economic opportunities emerging along the Coast.
“The various development projects we are initiating across the Coast, including the Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East African Refinery, will require a skilled workforce,” Ruto said.
He also commissioned Watamu Technical and Vocational College in Watamu town, Kilifi North Constituency, saying the institution would play a critical role in preparing young people for jobs created by major investments.
The government will equip the institution with facilities worth Sh45 million to strengthen its training capacity.
Ruto said the development of technical institutions was particularly important as the Coast undergoes increased investment in infrastructure, energy, housing and manufacturing.
The President also commissioned a modern market in Watamu, one of 12 markets being constructed in Kilifi County under the Affordable Housing Programme.
President William Ruto with Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro and other leaders in Kilifi/PCS
Ruto said the national government was investing Sh25 billion in Kilifi in affordable housing, modern markets and student hostels.
He said the projects were intended to improve livelihoods while promoting what he described as inclusive development.
“They claimed our transformative programmes are not viable, but we continue to prove them wrong every day, project by project,” Ruto said.
The President then launched construction of the 13-kilometre Gede-Kakuyuni road at Mijomboni in Kilifi North, which is being upgraded at a cost of Sh1 billion.
He said the annual road budget for Kilifi had increased ninefold, from an average of Sh2 billion in 2022 to Sh18 billion currently, to accelerate expansion of the county’s road network.
Earlier, at Mama Ngina Waterfront Grounds in Mombasa, Ruto issued 5,000 title deeds to beneficiaries from Dongo Kundu, Waitiki, Mwakirunge, Mikindani and Mafisini settlement schemes.
The titles are part of 300,000 documents the government is issuing across the Coast this week as it seeks to address historical land ownership concerns in the region.
Ruto said the government would not relent in efforts to resolve historical land injustices, despite resistance from some absentee landlords.
“We will not give in to the greed of the few absentee landlords who continue to frustrate our efforts to resolve historical land injustices at the Coast,” he said.
He also assured residents that those who had occupied land would not be evicted under the government’s compensation plan.
“We give notice to those refusing to accept the Government’s compensation plan: Not a single Kenyan will be evicted from the land they have occupied and called home,” Ruto said.
The President’s latest engagements form part of his wider Coast tour, during which the government is showcasing investments in infrastructure, education, housing, land and economic development.
Ruto said the projects were intended to expand opportunities for residents while ensuring development resources are distributed across regions.
