Kenyans have hailed a decision by ODM leader Raila Odinga to appoint Governor Nderiti Muriithi as the chairperson of his 2022 presidential campaigns board, saying the Laikipia county chief had what it takes to effectively steer the former prime minister’s campaigns to victory in August.
An economist and financial markets expert, Governor Muriithi has over 29 years of experience in leadership and management in Kenya, South Africa, Canada, and Australia and has been very instrumental in the drive to have the derelict Nairobi-Nanyuki and Gilgil-Nyahururu railway lines rehabilitated.
He is also the current finance, planning, and economic affairs committee chairperson of the Council of Governors elected in January 2021.
Upon his election as Governor of Laikipia in 2017, Mr. Muriithi embarked on radical reforms of the county public service to make it professional and globally competitive. These efforts have been rewarded with unmatched growth of the county’s own source revenue which has doubled since the 2016/2017 financial year.
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The Laikipia county boss is also credited with modernizing key towns of Laikipia under his Smart Towns Initiative funded partially by the World Bank’s Urban Support and Devolution Support programs and has also refocused the county public service to enterprise development to bridge the gap between development and positive social change.
Under his leadership, over 1600 local Small and Medium Enterprises are undergoing incubation under the Laikipia Innovation and Enterprise development Programme which he started in 2018 to nurture the SMEs to become manufacturers through increased production.
A nephew of former President Mwai Kibaki, many Kenyans are convinced Mr. Muriithi is a strategic and management wizard who has the blessings of prominent Mt Kenya political families, starting with Mwai Kibaki’s.
