In a show of political engagement and development rollout, President William Ruto on Tuesday convened grassroots leaders from Nakuru county at the State lodge Nakuru county. The meeting follows the president’s working tour in the county, which began on Monday and included a major forest conservation launch and a housing hand‐over.
The president met community representatives as he pressed ahead with two headline‐making projects. One is the launch of the Mau Forest Complex Integrated Conservation and Livelihood Improvement Programme (MFC-ICLIP) and the other is the hand-over of keys for the 220-unit Elburgon Affordable Housing Estate in Molo constituency.
At the conservation event, President Ruto said the programme, which plans to restore roughly 33,000 hectares of the Mau Forest ecosystem, will adopt an inclusive model of community participation. The initiative is part of the government’s pledge to plant 15 billion trees.
The meeting with grassroots leaders is significant. It signals Dr. Ruto’s effort to engage the local base at a time when implementation of his development agenda is under close scrutiny. In Nakuru, the housing estate spans nine G+4 blocks, with 60 studio units, 20 one-bedroom, 120 two-bedroom and 20 three-bedroom homes, and is expected to house around 1,500 residents.
Meanwhile, the forest restoration programme underscores the wider environmental agenda. The government plans to establish new nurseries, fence parts of the forest, and link restoration with livelihood support for farmers.
Supporters say the housing initiative opens access for ordinary Kenyans who once saw home-ownership as distant. Martha Maina, a public health assistant and recipient of a studio unit, said the “rent-to-own” model persuaded her to apply.
On the conservation front, Governor Susan Kihika described the forest programme as “not exclusion but opportunity,” emphasising community inclusion.
At the same time, some analysts caution that delivery is only part of the challenge. Ensuring that the housing remains affordable, that infrastructure is sustained, and that forest restoration genuinely benefits local livelihoods will be key. The political meeting may help, they say, but long-term follow-through matters.
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