India’s PM Modi pledged to fund our investment kitty if I win presidency – Raila

ODM leader Raila Odinga when he announced his presidential bid at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi on December 10, 2021. [File, Standard]

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga says India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to contribute to an investment kitty he (Raila) will create if he wins the August 9 polls.

Raila has pledged to create a funds pool in which Kenyans can borrow money from to start their small-scale businesses.

The former prime minister said the repayment period will be long, and that the borrowers won’t be obligated to settle the debt until seven years end.

Raila said he floated the idea to Modi, when he visited India recently, and that the prime minister was impressed by it.

Raila had accompanied his daughter, Rosemary, to Kerala where she underwent eye treatment at a specialised hospital.

“I recently met the Indian Prime Minister Nerandara Modi, [and told him about the long-term government loan project]. He said he will contribute to that kitty to help Kenyans,” Raila said during his address at Bamba Sokoni Grounds in Kilifi County on Saturday, February 19.

He, however, did not reveal whether the contribution would be in form of a grant or loan, neither did he disclose the amount of funds the PM had pledged.

Raila Odinga (L) and India’s PM Narendra Modi pose for a picture on February 13, 2022. [Courtesy, Twitter]

On his Twitter page on February 13, Modi said: “[I am] delighted to receive my friend H.E. Raila Amolo Odinga, former Prime Minister of Kenya. I fondly recollect my past interactions with him in India and Kenya. India and Kenya enjoy strong bilateral relations and we welcome further strengthening of our ties.”

The Saturday Kilifi event marked the first rally Raila Odinga attended upon returning from India on Friday, February 18.

The ODM boss was in Kilifi to popularise his presidential campaign under the Azimio La Umoja banner.

Raila says his social protection ideology borrows a lot from India and European nations.

In India for instance, there is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The objective of the scheme is to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every household as a matter of right.

In his speech in Kilifi, the ODM boss reiterated his promise to Kenyans – that should he win the presidential election, he will set aside a budget that would enable low-income households get Sh6,000 monthly stipend from the government.

“They are saying I’m lying, and that the government doesn’t have enough funds [to support the project]. I have served as Kenya’s prime minister, and I know where money is in government,” he said.

The ex-premier further said: “Unlike Deputy President William Ruto who made several promises in the lead-up to the 2013 and 2017 polls, but failed to execute them, I will ensure that I implement my plans fully.”

He christened the DP as Bwana Ahadi (loosely translated to mean “Mr promises)”.

Some of the pledges Odinga highlighted as unmet by the Jubilee administration include the schools’ laptop project (2013) and nine state-of-the-art stadia across the country (2017) and one million jobs per year (2017).

The ODM boss also dismissed claims that his presidential bid is being sponsored by the President Kenyatta-led government.

“They are claiming that I am a State project. Can Raila Amolo Odinga be someone’s project? I stood with them (President Kenyatta and DP Ruto) when they were taken to The Hague, both in 2013 and 2017, until their cases were thrown out,” he said.

In efforts to cement his support base at the Coast, Raila said his government, if he wins the presidency, will exploit the mining sector.

This, he stated, will directly benefit the coastal people through job creation and direct income from the mining industries around.

The former premier also promised to look into the welfare of single mothers through relevant social protection schemes and making education more affordable.

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, who accompanied Raila Odinga to Bamba Sokoni Grounds, accused DP William Ruto of neglecting the region for almost a decade, only to appear when he is looking for votes.

“William Ruto has been a deputy president for almost ten years now. He has never set foot in Bamba, Kilifi County between 2013 and 2021. In 2022, he comes here and says he wants to give you a wheelbarrow. You (Ruto) cannot come ten years after assuming office and try to fool us. We have refused,” said Joho.

“This time around, the country’s president has to come from Nyanza region. Ruto doesn’t mean well for us, he has no meaningful intention with us and he doesn’t recognise us [as high-value people],” added the Mombasa county chief.

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho (L) and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed at Bamba Sokoni Grounds in Kilifi County on February 19, 2022. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Joho urged the Kilifi electorate to vote for Raila Odinga as president, saying he (Joho) will make use of the cordial relationship he has with Odinga to lobby for the welfare of the coastal people to be addressed.

“You all know that I can readily access Raila Odinga. I want to assure you that he will elevate us from poverty should he become president,” said Joho.

Other leaders who accompanied Odinga to Kilifi include Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, Narok Senator Ledama Olekina, Mvita MP Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir, Nominated Senator Agnes Zani, former Devolution CAS Gideon Mung’aro, Kieni MP Kanini Kega, among others.

From left: Agnes Zani, Kanini Kega, Sheriff Nassir, Raila Odinga, Hassan Joho, Junet Mohamed, Gideon Mung’aro and Ledama Olekina. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

DP William Ruto has been on the record, saying he played an important role in Jubilee administration’s successes. The successes highlighted by the deputy president include improved road network, connection of more Kenyans to the power grid, construction of the SGR, among others.

Ruto has, however, distanced himself from the failures of the Jubilee government, saying that the administration lost a sense of direction the moment President Kenyatta struck a unity pact with Raila Odinga in March 2018.

Ruto accuses Odinga of being a presidential aspirant sponsored by the outgoing regime.