Musalia Mudavadi ends Mt Kenya tour, talks tax cuts

 ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi (right) during a past meeting with Nyandarua County Governor Francis Kimemia. [Humphrey Odhiambo, Standard]

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi has stepped up his efforts to woo the Mt Kenya voting bloc with a two-day tour of Nyeri County.

Mudavadi, who was accompanied by Nambale MP Sakwa Bunyasi, Vihiga County MP Beatrice Adagala and Nairobi Senator Johnstone Sakaja, said the tour of Mt Kenya counties was part of his efforts to meet Kenyans across the country.

Mudavadi has already met with Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia and Nakuru County boss Lee Kinyanjui in two separate meetings.

“I will also visit other counties. I'm on the road reaching out to people and discussing their vision and if they choose to support me I will be grateful,” the ANC leader said.

He described the tour as an effort to exchange ideas with various people in the counties because he believed in the impact of devolution.

After meeting Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, the two visited various development projects including Asian Quarters Bus Termini before meeting youth and women groups from across the county.

“As ANC we have visited the county in peace and carried out discussions on how to improve the economy and ways we can improve the earnings for farmers within the tea, coffee, poultry and dairy sectors,” Mudavadi said.

ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi (right) and  Nakuru County boss Lee Kinyanjui, July 3, 2021. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

He said excessive taxation had hampered the agricultural sector, with the cost of production skyrocketing.

“Our farmers cannot compete with their counterparts in the region because of high taxes that make animal feeds too expensive,” he said.

Mudavadi said the NASA coalition was facing challenges because there is a trust deficit in the alliance, and specifically in the resource sharing of party funds.

“Whatever alliances we build towards the election should be based on trust. The agreement must be anchored on trust by the leaders and policies we want to pursue,” he noted.

ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

He, however, asked Kenyans to remain open-minded as there will be a lot of jostling and reformations ahead of next year's general election.

Kahiga said Nyeri was an open society, focused on the local economy, tea and coffee, and asked Mudavadi to focus on these sectors.

“Nyeri county has in excess of 450,000 voters and the narrative that some areas belong to certain leaders is untrue,” Kahiga said.

The ANC leader is expected to attend a church service Sunday morning and a football tournament in the afternoon before concluding his Nyeri tour.