Githunguri Member of Parliament (MP) Gathoni Wamuchomba and former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga have taken issue with elected leaders from Mt Kenya region for failing to help regulate the high cost of living which has significantly reduced the residents’ disposable income besides crippling their economic activities.
The two accused elected leaders from the vast Central Kenya of failed oversight and giving a deaf ear to the cries of their people who have continued to suffer in the wake of the high cost of living.
Speaking at separate events in Githunguri and Gatundu South respectively, Wamuchomba and Maina regretted that despite the economic hardships that the people continue to grapple with, the elected leaders have remained silent with no sign of offering solutions to their woes.
On her part, Wamuchomba who addressed PEFA church adherents at Kagema Primary School within her constituency upheld that despite the intimidation and the coercion she has been accorded, she will remain firm in carrying out her legislative and oversight roles for the better good of Kenyans and especially her constituents.
Wamuchomba reminded the believers about the warning she made to Kenyans on the contentious Finance Act 2023 saying the law was not only punitive but was also oppressive to suffering Kenyans.
“I will not betray those who voted for me. I told people about the contentious bill that continues to oppress the people. They even came to my constituency to humiliate me but I will not be coerced. I will continue to speak the truth and I will only be silent when things get better for our people, when macadamia, tea and coffee products find markets and are bought at good prices,” Wamuchomba said.
She sustained that despite the pressure to remain silent over issues affecting Kenyans, her voice will remain high, especially on poor markets for macadamia, coffee, tea among other crops that residents from Central Kenya rely on to eke a living.
Her sentiments were echoed by former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga who insisted that prompt interventions must be done to rescue the people from the economic suffering that continues to torment them.
Maina who spoke after a fundraiser at Munyuini Catholic church in Gatundu South called on elected leaders from Central Kenya to rise to the occasion, open their ears and offer quick solutions to economic challenges bedeviling the people.
He particularly pointed out the need for the leaders to help restore sanity in the macadamia, coffee and avocado sectors, products that continue to attract low prices in the local and international markets.
“Our macadamia and other crops must be handled with keenness to prevent losses among farmers. It is sad that the elected leaders are silent on this issue. Those leaders were pinpointed and not elected and therefore do not have the understanding of the challenges facing our people,” Maina Njenga said.
Macadamia, coffee and avocado farmers from Central Kenya have continued to incur losses in the last year due to poor market prices.
Despite the government’s assurance that it will stabilize the market, buyers and local processors have been buying their products at throw-away prices, a situation that has seen some uproot the crops to venture into more lucrative businesses.
For instance, brokers have been buying the nuts at as little as Ksh10 and Ksh20 per kilogram, an ever-low price that Maina Njenga insisted must change.
